Don’t ask me why it caught my attention so many years ago; I don’t remember. I only remember that it did catch my attention, but, as often happens, I somehow forgot about its existence over the years.
Of course, I didn’t forget that it was still there (it’s still in the same spot, obviously), but I forgot that I had once been curious about what caused it. Maybe I asked my mother, and she explained it to me. If that was the case, I’ve forgotten that too.
That was until a few years ago in summer, when I helped an elderly lady off a train and noticed the same scar, in the exact same place as my mother’s. Needless to say, my curiosity was piqued, but since the train was about to depart, I didn’t get the chance to ask her about it.
So I called my mother, who told me that she had already explained it to me several times – apparently, my brain hadn’t found the answer important enough to store – and that her scar came from the famous smallpox vaccine.
Smallpox was a viral infectious disease that used to terrify people. It caused a severe rash and fever and killed about 3 in 10 victims during the worst epidemics of the 20th century, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many others were left disfigured.
Thanks to the successful and widespread rollout of the smallpox vaccine, the virus was declared “eradicated” in the U.S. in 1952. In fact, smallpox vaccines were removed from routine immunizations in 1972.
Until the early 1970s, all children were vaccinated against smallpox, and the vaccinations left a very distinctive scar. It was, in a way, the first vaccine passport: a scar that showed everyone you had been successfully immunized against smallpox. And yes, you guessed it – that’s the scar my mother has (like almost everyone of her generation).
Why did the smallpox vaccine leave a scar?
The smallpox vaccine left a scar due to the body’s healing process. The vaccine itself was administered in a rather different way from modern vaccines, using a special bifurcated needle.
The person giving the vaccine would puncture the skin multiple times (instead of just once as with modern shots) to deliver the vaccine into the dermis (the layer under the epidermis).
The virus in the vaccine would then begin to replicate, causing round bumps. These would turn into blisters, which would burst and then crust over.
The result is the famous scar we’ve discussed in this article.
Are you old enough to have a smallpox vaccine scar? Let us know in the comments!
