Does anybody know why the smallpox vaccine HAS to be administered the way it is? As I recall from my childhood, it was not by syringe, but by a round disk with two bigger needles and a few smaller ones. And it leaves a scar, of course.
What's the deal with that?
The pox vaccine actually had to be put in under the skin, and several punctures were made in order to be sure. Then, if the vaccine "took" (this is all by memory, now, so if someone else has better information, please correct me!)an actual pox developed. When you recovered from that, you were immune to smallpox.
Milkmaids, in olden days, were reckoned to be beautiful because they had unscarred faces--they never developed smallpox which was EVERYWHERE because they had mostly had cowpox...
Remember how sore that vaccination spot was? Imagine it all over your body....that's smallpox....
All of the above is available from the CDC.
Stay well - Stay safe - stay armed - Yorktown
Here's what the 14-day progression of the pustule looks like:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v281n22/fig_tab/jst90000_f4.html