Is the vaccine mark on the arm from smallpox?

The authorities try to stop the health alert which has caused a upturn of the monkey poxa disease that was eradicated world level in 1980. Since then, the vaccines against this condition viral and infectious they stopped inoculate. This Wednesday, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) estimated to recover them. Specifically, it recommended vaccination to the “close contacts from high risk“. In this sense, the Ministry of Health announced this Thursday that it is evaluating the option of buying doses against this virus. Faced with this alarm, many people have repeated the same reflex action: putting their hand in the arm and look for one boss that they have since childhood. Was that mark caused by the flu vaccine? smallpox?

The answer is binary: yes and no. In fact, there are people who have several lumps in their arm from various punctures. And the smallpox vaccine only consists of one dose. Here’s why, if you’re over 45, vaccinations left you with a memory for life.

Everything is due to the type of needle with which the vaccine was inoculated. In the decade of the seventy of the last century, the most common was the bifurcated needle. That is, with two tips To the extreme. “It measured five centimeters and was used to immunize against smallpox,” explains the Historical Museum of Nursing from Spain. In fact, this instrument was designed and patented exclusively for the smallpox vaccine.

Exclusive smallpox needle

“It is not an injection like the one that people generally know,” explains a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of USA. already in disuse and replaced by hypodermicwas created as a alternative more efficient and profitable than jet injector that was used previously.

It was invented in 1965 by Dr. benjamin rubinwho worked at Wyeth Laboratories, and was the main instrument used during the campaign of the World Health Organization (WHO) of 1966 and 1977 to eradicate smallpox.

200 million punctures

The needle was immersed in the vaccine solution. When it was removed, there was one drop of substance between both ends. Later, it was injected. But in a specific way: it stung the skin about 15 times in a few seconds.

Thus, a small lump of blood was formed that, when healed, left that mark that accompanies so many millions of people. Rubin estimated that it was used to administer 200 million vaccines per year during the last years of the campaign.