Smallpox vaccine scars: What they look
As a child, the narrator noticed a strange scar on their mother’s arm but forgot about
it until seeing the same mark years later on an elderly woman.
The explanation was unexpected: it came from “the smallpox vaccine.”
Smallpox was a devastating disease that “killed about 30% of those infected” and left many survivors scarred.
Through worldwide vaccination efforts, it became “the first disease ever eradicated,”
with the World Health Organization declaring victory in 1980. Routine vaccination in the U.S. ended in 1972.
The vaccine was distinctive. It used “a bifurcated needle,” pricking the skin to deliver a live but less dangerous virus called vaccinia.
A blister would form, scab, and heal, leaving “the distinctive circular scar recognized around the world.”
Today, few people still carry the mark. For those who do, it remains “a visible reminder” of one of medicine’s greatest achievements.
