Down in the mumps: Why Temple students got the virus decades after development of a vaccine

Temple University's mumps outbreak started just before spring break earlier this month. Why would there be an outbreak of an illness we've had a vaccine for since the 1960s?

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Registered nurse Nicole Rodriguez draws a dose of mumps vaccine at the Temple student health center. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Registered nurse Nicole Rodriguez draws a dose of mumps vaccine at the Temple student health center. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Temple University is experiencing a mumps outbreak. As of last week, 11 people tested positive for the disease while 36 more showed symptoms. Temple has taken precautions, including requiring new students to get vaccinated. But questions remain: Why did this outbreak happen at Temple? And why would there be an outbreak of an illness for which we’ve had a vaccine since the 1960s? Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, joins us on this episode of The Why.

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