What Is The So-Called 'Immigrant Scar?' Viral Memes About The TB Vaccine Scar Explained

Memes about a mysterious scar that appears on the upper arm of celebrities like Anya Taylor Joy and Mia Goth are going viral. It turns out the scar, which is present on many people around the world, has been the subject of memes for years, with many of the memes claiming you can tell if someone is an immigrant if they have it.

So where does this so-called "immigrant scar" come from and why does it happen? Here's what you need to know.

What Is The 'Immigrant Shot Scar?'

In 2017, the African Memes Facebook page posted an image macro consisting of a close-up image of a scar on someone's arm. The meme is captioned, "The universal 'you are an immigrant' mark." It garnered thousands of interactions over the next few memes, suggesting many people understood the context and related with the meme.

So what is the scar in the meme? The scar appears to be the result of the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine, which is used to prevent tuberculosis (TB). This vaccine is given to many people around the world in countries including Asia, Africa and Europe, although is not mandatory everywhere. This is why some people say it's a sign that someone is an immigrant.

Because the BCG vaccine contains live attenuated Mycobacterium bovis, it forces your immune system to react, creating a permanent scar on the arm of anyone who gets it. Notably, the smallpox vaccine is also known to cause a similar scar.

How Is The 'TB Vaccine Scar' Used In Memes?

Memes about the TB vaccine scar have only continued to spread since 2017. The majority of these memes paint the scar as a way of telling if someone is an immigrant. Some memes also claim it's a way to tell if someone is a boomer, since some countries used to require the shot but no longer do.

In late 2024, two photographs of actresses Anya Taylor Joy and Mia Goth, in which their TB vaccine scars are highlighted, started spreading online. The memes are very vague about the scars, with one post claiming it's a way to tell they're Latina and another simply reading, "those who know," suggesting a sinister meaning behind the scars.

For the full history of the TB vaccine scar, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.