[blam]

This is a subscriber only article.
I have seen the question asked many times on FR, "Is The Vaccination I got In The 50's Still Good."

Looks like it is still good.

[Sam Cree]

Hi, Blam, hope these guys are right.

[blam]

I was vaccinated in the early 50's. How about you?

[Wonder Warthog]

"One of the biggest sources of uncertainty in such models has been whether people vaccinated decades ago remain immune."

Geez--these idiots must not have read their "history of medicine". Folks vaccinated from the onset of smallpox vaccination often lived to ripe old ages, being re-exposed to smallpox along the way, and not ever catching the disease. Admittedly, that's not a "double-blind scientific study" but it kind of hints in favor of long-term effectiveness.

[Vigilantcitizen]

I don't know if they are related, but a chicken pox vaccination I received during boot camp in 1985 was still effective in stopping me from getting a full blown case of the disease when I was exposed to shingles a couple of years ago.

I still had some mild symptoms, but they went away quickly. My Doctor verified my military shot record and theorized the vaccination was the reason why.

[lonestar]

When I was in school, it was required before first grade and again 10 years later. I remember having to get another before my soph year in H S.

[andysandmikesmom]

I got my smallpox vaccination during the late 1940s, and like others, always wondered if it was still good....I had suspected, that even if it did not provide full immunity after so many years, it would still provide some immunity...seems like medical evidence shows its as good as ever...thats good to know...

[RightWhale]

They got me right about 1950. Must still be good 'cause I didn't get smallpox. Right?

[McGavin999]

That's what I've been saying all along. Once the body learns how to fight things, it remembers. I had always planned on not getting re-vaccinated because any emergency vaccinations should be given to the most vulnerable. I figured I could count on both my healthy immune system and the fact that I had been vaccinated many, many......many (sigh) years ago.

[Clinging Bitterly]

I was vaccinated in the '60s. They said then that if it left a scar, it made you immune permanently. I have the mark, and I don't plan on getting another vaccination.

[nopardons]

This article is correct and I've been saying the same thing ( got my answer from a prominant, highly regarded doctor, who happens to be a friend ) when it first cropped up on FR and the virtual hypocondriacs/hysterics were in full throttle. They were dead wrong, I was right, and the hysteric health threads, on FR are not only a damned waste of bandwidth, they are about as useful as lipstick on a pig !

[not-an-ostrich]

Vaccinated in 1946. In fact I have a photo of me at the time with a large bandage on my arm.

[pttttt]

If you want to get another one, NIH is having clinical trials. See NIH Seeks Subjects For Smallpox Vaccine Trials.