# 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:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/41 "2013-12-09T00:40:21Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Shouldn’t you be worried about being switched at birth? No worries. I was born in Bacon County, along with all the other cool kids. ---
**Author:** ![MDJR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbce88/32.png) [@MDJR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MDJR)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/42 "2014-02-08T18:32:09Z")
I have my initial smallpox vaccination scar on my upper left arm. The rule was to give them on the non-dominant arm so most everyone has them on the left arm, left handed people might have them on the upper right arm. Some doctors would give the vaccination to girls on their thigh/leg for cosmetic reasons. I received a booster 8 years later when I went overseas on vacation. The vaccination wasn’t normally given until a child was a year old but it was usually required for school entry so sometimes a kid wouldn’t get vaccinated until he/she was 5-6 years of age. Smallpox vaccinations were not routinely given to the public after 1972. Some doctors would give them on request for a short while after. After a primary vaccination, subsequent vaccinations would not cause quite a robust reaction as the first and sometimes didn’t even leave a scar. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/43 "2014-02-08T19:01:18Z")
I was vaccinated on the top of my thigh. The scar was visible when I was young, but no longer. My sister was vaccinated on the bottom of her foot. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/44 "2014-02-08T19:10:00Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Born in 1971 on Long Island, NY. > > I did get a smallpox vaccine but only because I went to Panama in 1976. It was definitely not routine in that place and time. FWIW, I don’t have a visible scar. Hey, did you meet **Colibri**? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638/45 "2014-02-08T19:11:13Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > 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. Ditto birth, ditto scar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-i-have-received-the-smallpox-vaccine-as-a-kid-in-the-1970s/675638.md?page=2)