| History | In 1800 the Dispensary for Infant Poor in Dublin, under their Surgeon John Creighton, began vaccinating children against cow-pock, one of the greatest killing and disfiguring diseases of the time. By 1804 demand was so high that a special Cow-Pock Institution was established at 1 North Cope Street, Dublin. The Institution offered free inoculation and to supply packets of vaccination to be sent by post, with no charge for those sent to army or navy surgeons. Dr Labatt was the first secretary of the Institution. In 1889 the Institution moved to Upper O'Connell Street and became the Vaccine Department of the Local Government Board. |