# Would I have received the smallpox vaccine as a kid in the 1970s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638 "2013-12-06T03:46:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/21 "2013-12-06T18:46:44Z")
Born 1956 and vaccinated. Used to have a noticable scar the size of a dime. My Mom’s was larger. She said it was because she got hers earlier, and the procedure had changed since then. Don’t know if I still have a scar or not. I’d suspect it to be a lot less noticable, now. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/22 "2013-12-06T19:01:15Z")
Born in 66 and I have it. Wife born in 68 and does not. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/23 "2013-12-06T20:21:42Z")
Since the smallpox vaccination is only fully effective for about five years, having been vaccinated forty or so years ago wouldn’t do you much good if you were exposed to smallpox now. Routine vaccinations of children were dropped in the early '70s, of travelers in the early '80s, and of the military in the early '90s (restored after 9/11). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/24 "2013-12-06T20:46:26Z")
I got mine in the late 1950s. Not very noticeable now, though I think I can figure out where it is. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/25 "2013-12-06T21:10:45Z")
> [@Joools](#): > > Look on the outer side of your left arm, about 4-5 inches down from your shoulder. You’ll probably need to use a mirror to see it. It’s a round speckly scar, about the size of a nickel. It’s not necessarily in that location, or that size. Mine’s about as big around as a pencil eraser, right on the corner of my shoulder, and hardly visible. Of course I got mine in 2003 before going to Iraq. The people getting their second shot got _way_ more pokes with the needle than me, and in a larger area. Their scars are probably much bigger than mine. So basically, YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/26 "2013-12-06T21:29:08Z")
I got it (born in 1968), my husband did not (born in 1971). It was right around then when it was phased out. My scar was at the top of my thigh, but I think it has faded to invisibility. ---
**Author:** ![Throbert\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/57b2e6/32.png) [@Throbert\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throbert_McGee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/27 "2013-12-06T21:52:22Z")
My guess is that if you’re a military brat over 30 and you went abroad at some point in your childhood, you most likely have the smallpox-vaccine scar – even though the vaccination had been phased out for civilian kids by the early '70s. (I’m 42 and my scar is barely a freckle at this point, but both me and my younger sister used to have more prominent scars.) ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/28 "2013-12-07T01:15:10Z")
> [@Throbert\_McGee](#): > > My guess is that if you’re a military brat over 30 and you went abroad at some point in your childhood, you most likely have the smallpox-vaccine scar – even though the vaccination had been phased out for civilian kids by the early '70s. (I’m 42 and my scar is barely a freckle at this point, but both me and my younger sister used to have more prominent scars.) I was born in the late '60s in the U.S., and lived in Germany for a few years in the mid-1970s as an Army brat, but to the best of my knowledge, still never received the smallpox vaccine. I certainly have no visible scar. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/29 "2013-12-07T01:16:51Z")
Born in 67. No smallpox vaccine. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/30 "2013-12-07T02:57:34Z")
Thanks for the helpful answers, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/31 "2013-12-07T04:26:28Z")
Born in 1966 in Saskatchewan, no vaccination. My husband, born in 1969 in Alberta, did get vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/32 "2013-12-07T04:42:16Z")
Yes, Rhythmdvl, you have a dumb question? Yes, yes I do. What were the scars from? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/33 "2013-12-07T04:49:46Z")
The method of administering the vaccine is quite different that most. First, it’s a live virus. Second, you get multiple skin pricks of the virus. The virus cause a skin reaction which eventually scabs over, leaving a scar underneath. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/34 "2013-12-07T15:46:34Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > I was born in 1969, Georgia USA, and didn’t get the vaccine. Funny, so was I (Chatham County) and I did. I was born in March. My dad was in the Army. Could that have anything to do with it? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/35 "2013-12-07T16:44:57Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > I was born in 1969, Georgia USA, and didn’t get the vaccine. > > > [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > > > Funny, so was I (Chatham County) and I did. Shouldn’t you be worried about being switched at birth? ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/36 "2013-12-07T22:01:57Z")
> [@Throbert\_McGee](#): > > My guess is that if you’re a military brat over 30 and you went abroad at some point in your childhood, you most likely have the smallpox-vaccine scar – even though the vaccination had been phased out for civilian kids by the early '70s. (I’m 42 and my scar is barely a freckle at this point, but both me and my younger sister used to have more prominent scars.) That was my experience. We were made to have boosters every time we moved overseas. I have four faint scars. Last booster was 1976. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/37 "2013-12-07T23:52:53Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > The method of administering the vaccine is quite different that most. First, it’s a live virus. Second, you get multiple skin pricks of the virus. The virus cause a skin reaction which eventually scabs over, leaving a scar underneath. [Note the photo, showing the needle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bifurcated_needle). Rather than a standard injection of fluid under the skin (stab, inject, withdraw), it holds freeze-dried vaccine which is literally stabbed into the skin in a circular pattern. My mother’s scar looks kind of like what you’d expect from a lamprey or something similar. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/38 "2013-12-08T02:34:24Z")
My brother, born in '73 in Tennessee, got it as an adult in Texas when they were testing either the vaccine or the delivery method. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/39 "2013-12-08T06:09:08Z")
I was born in 59, and was vacinated sometime before 69, so I don’t count. But the thing that interests me is that my scar, before it faded, was not the same as your round scars. It was more square, and had distintive lines. because I was scratched, not jabbed. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/40 "2013-12-08T23:38:58Z")
Born in PA, 1971. I always thought I hadn’t gotten the vaccination, since I have no scar, but reading above, I’m not sure. And my parents are dead, so that option’s closed. _shrugs_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638.md?page=3)