I can call my civilian MD tomorrow. I saw her today, and updated my civilian records with my shot record info. She didn't ask anything about a scar, but was glad that I got the vaccination, and equally glad that I didn't get the anthrax.
/john
She didn't ask anything about a scar, but was glad that I got the vaccination, and equally glad that I didn't get the anthrax.
The SOP in British Smallpox vaccination was to re-vaccinate if no scar appeared after a couple of weeks. The Microbiologists at the hospital I used to work at in Cambridge used to say the best indicator of Smallpox vaccination effectiveness was a scar.
This is because the Vaccinia virus used is live and should elicit a local immune response. If there is a scar you can be confident the vaccination worked. If there isn't, it may still have worked, but you can't be sure without a confirmatory test. It could be your immune system doesn't create a powerful enough response to the specific surface antigens on the virus to leave a scar. However, everyone I know who was vaccinated against Smallpox has a scar.
Its worth asking your doctor about it, perhaps the data the old British SOP was based on has now been disproved.