Mumps Outbreak

We recently had a rather lively discussion on the local homeschool group I belong to regarding the pros and cons of vaccinations. Being a thoroughly vaccinated family, I was surprised at how many people that I hang out with had not gone that route.

Now there is the Mumps outbreak in Iowa. 66% of these cases had received two does of the mumps vaccine. 14% had received one dose. They are not sure how the epidemic got started, though they believe it may have been transmitted here from England via a college student. Nor do they know why the vaccinations are working as it is a common strain of mumps.

My father had mumps when he was 16 years old and almost died from it and was left with life long problems because of it. I had mumps when I was two months old (don't remember it though) and as a youngster I had two strains of measles and chicken pox as well (I remember being in my room with the blanket over the windows to keep out the sun for one of these illnesses). I had them all before I was 5. I still believe vaccines are a good thing, though I am willing to hear other thoughts on the matter.

So please chime in with your thoughts, research and experiences.