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My question was:

This question is addressed to the "more mature" celiacs on the list.
Did any of you who were vaccinated against smallpox in childhood fail to
get the characteristic "scar" reaction as proof that it took?
I was vaccinated multiple times as a child when there was no visible
 sign that it had been effective.  The doctors insisted "a non take" was
 impossible and revaccinated, then finally gave up.

As an adult I found I am celiac and wondered if there were others who
 had the same result.

 I guess with all the talk about biochemical warfare I wondered if a
 celiac's immune reaction is different than the population at large.
 With other things such as rubella, measles, there is no visible sign
 that immunization was effective and we seldom have titers run to find
 out.

My thanks and appreciation to all who took the time to respond.
The responses were very interesting.  67 people responded in all.  All
believe they are celiac but I do not know how the individual diagnoses were
determined.

Overall            32 remember a "scar" that followed vaccination
                        25 did not have a "scar"
                        11 wrote to say it didn't matter--immunity is only
believed to
                             last 5, 10, or 20 years.

Many were given multiple vaccinations in attempts to get a "take".  One
respondant had a "take" on the 3rd try but became very ill from this
vaccination.  Others never had a "take" but reacted poorly to repeated
vaccinations (swelling at the site, of the affected limb, fevers, etc.)
Additionally, some reacted poorly to DPT shots and boosters and one to the
measles.  One man was diagnosed as a celiac secondary to his inability to
sero-convert after Hepatitis B vaccine and another celiac also did not
sero-convert after the Hepatitis B vaccine.  One had a negative titer after
rubella vaccine.

Some of the non-reaction children were classified as "naturally immune" by
their physicians.

One lady wrote that there is an investigation underway at Harvard U.
Non-responders to hepatitis B have been linked to the HLA type associated
with celiac disease and IDDM.  If anyone is interested, I can provide the
citation she sent.

A physician responded:  "Celiac disease people may not have a measurable
response to certain vaccinations........while you may not generate any
antibodies against smallpox vaccination you may still have cellular immunity
against it.  That is not as easy to measure.........  Other vaccines may or
may not take."

Re/to smallpox immunity:  an article by Jon Cohen And Now, the Good News
About Smallpox "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site
offers this depressing answer.............suggest immunity from
vaccination lasts 3 to 5 years.     But data from a l902-l903 smallpox
outbreak in Liverpool, England, strongly suggest otherwise.  A study
analyzed the impact of the disease on 1,163 Liverpudlians, 943 who
received the vaccine during infancy and 220 who were never
vaccinated.......In the oldest age group, 50 and above, 93 percent of
the vaccinated people escaped severe disease and death.  In contrast, 50
percent of the unvaccinated in that age bracket died, and another 25
percent had severe disease.  To put it plainly, the vaccine offered
remarkable protection after 50 years."

The US stopped vaccinations for smallpox in l972-3 ( I don't know about
other countries) but in l980 the WHO declared that smallpox was eliminated
worldwide.

The responses were very interesting and give us all something to think about
should vaccination be suggested and if they are in short supply.