Wiktionary
variolate
Having the appearance of smallpox v
To infect with smallpox
Usage examples of "variolate".
He helped variolate 287 people during the 1721 epidemic, among which were his own children.
Of the variolated people, six died, most likely due to having caught wild smallpox prior to variolation.
One advantage would be that by variolating these previously vaccinated people, their blood will be rich in antibodies to smallpox after the variolation.
The technology required to vaccinate or variolate the Grantville population is very minimal.
They took a risk, and decided to go with the aggressive, but in the end safest, route and everyone in the community has been variolated aside from the youngest babies who will undergo the procedure by age two.