PENGUIN PRESS, MARCH 2011
Our skins record the histories of life’s close scrapes. One of the most common marks that humans carry is, we hope, bound for extinction: the nickel-sized cicatrix left by a successful smallpox vaccination. The deadliest disease in history, smallpox was eradicated worldwide more than thirty years ago. With each passing year, fewer of the world’s inhabitants bear the mark of smallpox vaccination on their arms. Fewer still can remember what those scars once meant. Our fading vaccination scars are not simply a tattooed testament to one of the greatest scientific and medical triumphs of all time. These scars are also a reminder of the shocking level of coercion and harsh treatment once used in vaccination campaigns—and the widespread popular resistance sparked by those measures.
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