Smallpox, a deadly viral infection, caused severe fever and skin rashes,
claiming 3 out of 10 lives and leaving survivors with scars. The variola virus
was responsible, and scientists developed a vaccine using the related vaccinia
virus. This vaccine spurred immune responses that led to smallpox’s eradication
by the early 1950s. A smallpox vaccine scar, often round or oblong, resulted from
an invasive bifurcated needle used to deliver the vaccine. This method caused scabbing,
and as the body healed, a noticeable scar remained, marking the immune response to the vaccine
