Vaccine History: Vaccine Availability Timeline
These dates represent when vaccines first became available. Please note that if you are unsure about having received a vaccine, this table can only tell you whether the vaccine was available, but cannot confirm whether you personally had the vaccine since not everyone in the population was immunized.
Routinely recommended vaccines
1914 – Pertussis vaccine
1926 – Diphtheria vaccine
1938 – Tetanus vaccine
1945 – Inactivated influenza vaccine - trivalent (shot; not routinely recommended)
1948 – Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines combined to form DTP
1955 – Inactivated polio vaccine (shot)
1962 – Live polio vaccine (oral)
1963 – Measles vaccine
1967 – Mumps vaccine
1969- Rubella vaccine
1971 – Measles, mumps and rubella vaccines combined to form MMR
1981 – Hepatitis B vaccine (serum-derived)
1985 – Hib vaccine
1986 – Hepatitis B vaccine (recombinant)
1992 – DTaP vaccine
1995 – Varicella vaccine
1995-1996 – Hepatitis A vaccine
1998 – Rotavirus vaccine (Rotashield) (removed from market 1999)
2000 – Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
2003 – Intranasal influenza vaccine — trivalent (not recommended for use between 2016-2018)
2005 – Meningococcal (ACWY) conjugate vaccine for adolescents
2005 – Tdap vaccine for adolescents
2006 – HPV vaccine for adolescent girls (protected against 2 or 4 types of HPV)
2006 – Rotavirus vaccine (RotaTeq)
2006 – Shingles vaccine (Zostavax for adults 60 years & older)
2008 – Rotavirus vaccine (RotaRix)
2009 – HPV vaccine for adolescent boys (version that protected against 4 types of HPV)
2013 – Inactivated and intranasal influenza vaccine — quadrivalent (the intranasal version was not recommended for use between 2016-2018)
2014 – Meningococcal B vaccine licensed
2014 – HPV vaccine that protects against 9 types of HPV (Gardasil 9)
2017 – Second shingles vaccine (Shingrix for adults 50 years & older)
2020 – COVID-19 vaccine
2021 – Dengue vaccine (routine recommendation for 9- to 16-year-olds)
2023 – Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (Arexvy and Abrysvo for adults 60 years and older and pregnant people)
2023 – Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (nirsevimab, monoclonal antibody for infants)
2023 – Meningococcal pentavalent vaccine (A, B, C, W and Y) (Penbraya)
Vaccines not routinely recommended
1798 – Smallpox vaccine (discontinued use for general population in US 1972)
1885 – First rabies vaccines
1896 – Typhoid fever vaccine
1927 – Tuberculosis vaccine (BCG)
1930s – Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine
1935 – Yellow fever vaccine
1954 – Anthrax vaccine
1965 – Currently used anthrax vaccine
1986 – Currently used JE vaccine
1997 – Currently used rabies vaccines
1999-2002 - Lyme disease vaccine (no longer available)
2016-2018 – Intranasal influenza vaccine
2016 – Cholera vaccine
2019 - Ebola vaccine
2019 – Dengue vaccine
2019 – Mpox/Smallpox
2021 Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)
2023 – Chikungunya vaccine
Reviewed by Paul A. Offit, MD on January 25, 2024