What is the smallpox vaccine, and is it still required?
The smallpox vaccine is the best way to prevent smallpox. The vaccine is made from a virus called vaccinia, which is another pox-type virus related to smallpox. The vaccine helps the body develop immunity to smallpox. The vaccine does not contain the smallpox virus and cannot spread smallpox. It was successfully used to eradicate smallpox from the human population. Getting smallpox vaccine before exposure will protect about 95 percent of people from getting smallpox. Vaccination within three days of exposure will prevent or significantly lessen the severity of smallpox in the vast majority of people. Vaccination four to seven days after exposure likely offers some protection from disease or may modify the severity of disease. Solid protection lasts for three to five years after vaccination. Partial protection lasts longer, but people need to be revaccinated if too much time has passed. Routine vaccination of the American public against smallpox stopped in 1972 after the disease was era
