Provisional Certificate of Vaccination

San Francisco: Health Office, New City Hall, 1897. Very good. Printed document, partially filled in manuscript; 3 1/2 x 7 1/2; faint stain through middle section, causing rippling to paper (not affecting readability); small nick to top edge; in about very good condition.History indeed repeats itself, as evident by this uncommon piece of 19th-century vaccination history. The San Francisco Health Office, founded in 1865, was initially tasked with administering vaccinations, reporting deaths, and handling internment permits. Later, its authority would be extended over managing the city's public hospitals. Throughout the 1800s, San Francisco was plagued by several epidemics, including smallpox, typhoid fever, and diphtheria. Generally, the spread of the diseases was blamed either on the poor, or on the Chinese-Americans. In fact, at the time, there were numerous media reports of doctors treating small pox victims and then moving on to administer to patients with other illnesses, without even washing their hands. Furthermore, vaccines were not closely regulated and tested and were, often, ineffective. Despite that, records and images showed long lines of people, patiently wating to get vaccinated. The current provisional certificate - "Good for two weeks from date, then to be exchanged for regular certificate..." testified that one Anna Hansen has been vaccinated at the New City Hall Health Office by Dr. E. L. Perramore.