May 29, 2026
Vax Facts Friday 5.29.26
Q: What U.S. president underwent smallpox variolation so he could conduct business in Boston without fearing the disease?
A. John Adams
B. Benjamin Franklin
C. Thomas Jefferson
D. Theodore Roosevelt
The correct answer is A. John Adams
Prior to becoming president, John Adams conducted a lot of business in Boston, Massachusetts. During the 1760s, a smallpox epidemic broke out in Boston. Adams didn’t want to risk infection or delay his work, so he was intentionally inoculated with smallpox, which was a common practice during that time. Known as variolation, the virus was taken from a pustule of one person and inoculated into another.
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