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Sorry to tell you, but that immunization on the sugar cube was NOT smallpox. Smallpox immunization was with a "Bifurcated" needle poked about 15 times into the skin. That sugar cube you remember was the old polio vaccine.

Orimune was discontinued in the USA several years ago when the committee realized that more paralytic polio in the United States was due to the vaccine than wild virus.

The lame excuse ACIP is giving us regarding smallpox (that the risks are too large) is particularly lame when compared to the relative risk of side effects with existing vaccines.

Some side effects may occur as often as 1 out of 3 uses of vaccine. Yet, they deem these other pathogens as more important than smallpox!

I would happily line up all in my household for another go at smallpox vaccine. The consequences of not being immunized is not worth death or lifelong disability from an actual case of the disease.

My undergrad degree is in Molecular Biology from UCSD. I pursued a master's in pathogenic microbiology, but decided that computer science and electrical engineering was a better paying career path. No regrets at the change in direction, but I still retain an interest in pathogens and means of dealing with them.

I do recall my mom taking me to the Navy dispensary for a smallpox immunization. They were too busy and couldn't spare anyone to come over to the room where the immunizations were performed. I suspect that I never did get immunized against smallpox as a child. I hope I'm wrong, but there is no physical evidence (scar) to suggest it ever happened.