Smallpox vaccine scars: What they look like and why

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This process triggered the body to react. Within a few days, a small bump would appear, which then developed into a blister.

That blister would eventually break, scab over, and leave a scar behind.

The pattern and depth of the scar depended on the body’s healing process—but the mark it left was unmistakable.

So that unusual scar I noticed as a child on my mother’s arm?

It’s more than just a curiosity. It’s a permanent trace of a moment in history w