In 2014 USA Today reported about a mumps outbreak which infected a handful of NHL players despite the fact that all of them were vaccinated and some of them re-vaccinated. The article goes on to cite a source which essentially explains this incident as bad luck. The glaring question is never asked, “how can these men in the peak of health contract mumps despite being vaccinated for the disease?” To ask that question is to invite controversy. Yet, the question is still valid, especially after realizing that the mumps vaccine tends to fail quite often.
In some cases even after patients receive two doses of the mumps vaccine they can still contract the virus. This fact has led researchers at the CDC to recommend a third dose. One has to wonder if even three doses will be enough or will the mumps vaccine be administered like the annual flu shot.
“There remains little room for discussion as to whether most cases involve vaccine failure; they do.”
–Hekki Peltola et. al., “Mumps Outbreaks in Canada and the United States: Time for New Thinking on Mumps Vaccine,” Clinically Infectious Diseases 45 (2007): 459.
