GOOD NEWS ABOUT SMALLPOX SHOTS:

THE VACCINE HAS been assumed to offer its best protection for from three to five years.

However, according to a paper scheduled for the September edition of the journal Nature Medicine, lab tests can detect immune response in 90 percent of vaccinated people for many years, some for up to 75 years.

It’s still not clear just how much protection old vaccinations offer, but it seems likely that they provide some benefit for a long time.