So I’m having trouble with this, and I’ve went through different links on Google and can’t find an answer. So they would poke into sores of people who had smallpox and then proceed to cut the patient and insert the infection directly into them. I’m not understanding why catching small pox that way would be any different than catching it naturally?
I am specifically referring to how it was done during the revolutionary war, not today’s vaccines. But wouldn’t mind knowing how those two things differ as a bonus
In: Biology
First off the vaccine isn’t smallpox, but a virus called vaccinia. To our immune system it is close enough to smallpox that you will be immune to smallpox
Generally speaking, this vaccine only causes a localized lesion along with feeling bad for a couple of days.
Small pox will, at best, cause massive scarring. It can cause blindness and other horrible issues. Smallpox will kill up to 30% of people who catch it.
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