Expected Effects and Side Effects:
All vaccines cause side effects, but smallpox vaccine causes a unique reaction at the vaccination site.
After smallpox vaccination, a red blister appears that should turn white 6 to 8 days after vaccination. Then it will turn into a scab. This shows successful vaccination.
Most people experience normal, usually mild, reactions, such as swollen lymph nodes, sore arm, fever, headache, body ache, and fatigue. These symptoms may peak 8 to 12 days after vaccination.
Note: Vaccine viruses are present on the skin at the vaccination site. People need to be careful not to touch the site and spread those viruses somewhere else.
SIDE EFFECTS, SERIOUS:
Very rarely, smallpox vaccine can cause serious side effects.
Serious side effects are generally more rare after revaccination, compared to first vaccinations.
In the past, about 1,000 out of every 1,000,000 vaccinated people experienced reactions that were serious, but not life-threatening. Most of these reactions involved spread of vaccine virus elsewhere on the body.
In the past, between 14 and 52 people out of 1,000,000 vaccinated for the first time experienced potentially life-threatening reactions. These reactions included serious skin reactions and inflammation of the brain (encephalitis). From past experience, one or two people in 1 million who receive smallpox vaccine may die as a result.
Serious side effects are generally more rare after revaccination, compared to first vaccinations.
We will try to reduce the risk of side effects by actively looking for and exempting out people whose immune system is not working fully and people who have or had certain skin conditions.
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