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I vividly recall as a child spotting a noticeable scar on my mother’s arm. It is situated near her shoulder, high up, and gives the impression that a larger indent in her skin is surrounded by a ring of smaller ones.
Don’t ask me why I was drawn to that particular thing all those years ago; I can’t recall. The only thing I remember is that it did, but during the ensuing years, I kind of forgot it existed.
Needless to say, I didn’t forget it existed—it’s still there, as it always has—but I did forget that I used to be captivated by the reason for it. Maybe my mother explained when I questioned her once. However, I also forget if she did.
That was until one summer a few years ago, while assisting an old woman off a train, I happened to notice the exact same scar—in the exact same location as my mother’s. Naturally, I was intrigued, but I couldn’t exactly question her about the cause of her scar because the train was about to thunder on to my destination.
As an alternative, I called my mother, who informed me that she had actually told me more than once—clearly my brain didn’t think the response was significant enough to remember—and that the renowned smallpox vaccine was the cause of her scar.
We humans used to be terrified of smallpox, an infectious virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that during the most widespread epidemics in the 20th century, it killed three out of ten victims and caused a severe skin rash and fever. Numerous additional victims were left deformed.
In 1952, the smallpox virus was deemed “extinct” in the US because to the successful and extensive adoption of the vaccination. Indeed, smallpox vaccines were removed from the list of standard vaccinations in 1972.
However, smallpox vaccines were administered to all children until the early 1970s, and the effects of these shots were evident. Imagine it as the first vaccine passport, a scar that informed everyone that you had received a successful smallpox vaccination.
Yes, my mother, like almost everyone else in her age group, has exactly exact scar.
The smallpox vaccine caused scarring; why?
The body’s natural healing mechanism resulted in scarring from the smallpox vaccination. Using a unique two-pronged needle, the vaccine was administered in a somewhat different manner than many other vaccines administered today.
The vaccination was administered to the dermis (the layer beneath the epidermis) of the skin by means of numerous punctures, as opposed to the single puncture often used for modern immunizations.
The vaccine’s virus then went to work, growing and producing spherical lumps. Vesicles, which are tiny blisters packed with fluid, formed from the bumps and eventually burst and scabbed.
The outcome is the notorious scar that we have discussed in this text.
Do you have the age to be scarred by the smallpox vaccine? Please share in the comments!
