[carra]

I received my smallpox vaccination in the early 50's and I came down with cowpox. The doctor told my parents I would probably be immune to all poxes after that. Wrong! Later, I got chicken pox and was sicker than normal. And I received a booster shot for smallpox in the early 70's and had a strong reaction. I've been expecting to get shingles sometime in the future and now I have to worry about smallpox again. Sigh...

[bonesmccoy]

Cow pox and chicken pox are completely different viruses. There has never been any belief that small pox immunization would protect against varicella (the virus that causes chicken pox).