[Members of the Vaccine Central Committee: a group of men deserving their native land and even humanity].

Two hundred years ago, in May 1800, a private initiative set up a "Central Committee of Vaccine" in Paris. A handful of men launched an extraordinary research: how to implement a still recent and little-known discovery, a method to protect people against small pox. The news came from England, with which France was on bad terms. Smallpox was a fearsome disease killing one tenth of the population and disfiguring or maiming as many again. After several failed attempts, success was reached and the value of the method demonstrated. The committee played a major role in spreading the vaccine (thanks to Jenner) not only in France but also in the whole of the Napoleonic Empire. His remarkable experiments were published and made known to the whole western world. The Committee was made official en 1804 and operated until the foundation of the Academy of medicine, which took over its duties and responsibilities. The French owe a lot to this Central Committee of Vaccine, which greatly contributed to fighting small pox and eradicating the disease finally.