Question: The last case of smallpox occurred in Somalia in 1977, but in what year did, smallpox become the only infectious disease to ever be declared eradicated worldwide, making it no longer necessary for people to have a smallpox vaccination certificate in order to travel?
Answer: 1980. There have been no naturally occurring cases of smallpox since 1980, but until then, anyone who wanted to visit another country did have to produce a smallpox vaccination certificate. Though most were real, some anti-vaxxer types s tried to forge such certificates, and even went as far as to fake the scars. Yes, scars. Unlike the covid vaccines (I just got my first one), smallpox ones left scars, worse on some people than on others. My own is barely noticeable.
