Mumps vaccine

Protect your child against mumps

Type of vaccine

Combination live attenuated vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)

Protects against

Measles, Mumps and Rubella

Primary course

1-2 doses

Boosters

None

Suitable for ages

From 12 months

What is the mumps vaccine?

Mumps is a viral infection characterised by painful swelling in the sides of the face under the ears (the parotid glands), which can give the face a full-cheeked, hamster-like appearance.

It may also cause a fever, headache, weakness, and sore throat. Generally, mumps is a mild illness that passes within one to two weeks, especially for children. Indeed, one-third of people contagious with mumps will not develop any symptoms.

In some cases, mumps can cause complications. You can read more about these on our Mumps illness page, but they can include viral meningitis, hearing loss, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and orchitis (swelling of the testicles) or oophoritis (swelling of the ovaries).

Orchitis affects approximately one in three males who get mumps after puberty, and an estimated one in 10 experience a drop in sperm count because of the illness (but rarely enough to cause infertility).

About one in 15 females who catch mumps after puberty experience oophoritis, which can cause lower abdominal pain, a high temperature, and vomiting.

It is not possible to have a single vaccination for protection against mumps. Instead, there are two mumps-containing vaccines: Priorix or M-M-RvaxPro.

During your consultation, we will discuss the best option for your child.

How does the mumps vaccine work?

The mumps-containing vaccines each contain live mumps, measles, and rubella viruses, which means they are made from weakened forms of each illness. Either vaccine mentioned above stimulates your child’s immune system to produce antibodies that will remember and fight the viruses if it were exposed to them in the future.

The live viruses in Priorix or M-M-RvaxPro are too weak to cause mumps, measles, or rubella in healthy children. If your child takes medication or has an illness that weakens their immune system, please let us know during their consultation.

Who should have the mumps vaccine?

The World Health Organisation recommends that all children are vaccinated against mumps. It observes that countries with high vaccine coverage have shown a rapid decline in the number of people contracting the illness. Mumps-associated encephalitis and deafness are also rare where there is high vaccine coverage.

Some people decide to see if their child catches mumps and develops subsequent immunity before their teens. They can then arrange an antibody test and have the MMR vaccine as a teenager to create some mumps immunity.

Mumps vaccine FAQs

It is estimated that two doses of the MMR vaccine are around 86% effective against mumps. A 2021 study found that the Priorix vaccine was 82% effective against mumps after one dose in children over four and 86.5% effective after two doses.

Like all vaccines, mumps-containing vaccines can cause side effects. For most people, they’re mild.

The side effects that occurred in clinical trials for Priorix were:

Very common (these occur with more than one in 10 doses of the vaccine)

  • Redness at the injection site
  • Fever of 38°C or higher

Common (these may occur with up to one in 10 doses of the vaccine):

  • Pain and swelling at the injection site
  • Fever higher than 39.5°C
  • Rash (spots)
  • Upper respiratory tract infection

Uncommon (these may occur with up to one in 100 doses of the vaccine):

  • Infection of the middle ear
  • Swollen lymph glands (glands in the neck, armpit, or groin)
  • Loss of appetite
  • Nervousness
  • Abnormal crying
  • Inability to sleep (insomnia)
  • Redness, irritation, and watering of the eyes (conjunctivitis)
  • Bronchitis
  • Cough
  • Swollen parotid glands (glands in the cheek)
  • Diarrhoea
  • Vomiting

Rare (these may occur with up to one in 1,000 doses of the vaccine):

  • Convulsions accompanying high fever
  • Allergic reactions

After the marketing of Priorix, the following side effects were reported on a few occasions:

  • Joint and muscle pain
  • Punctual or small spotted bleeding or bruising more easily than normal due to a drop in platelets
  • Sudden life-threatening allergic reaction
  • Infection or inflammation of the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves resulting in temporary difficulty when walking (unsteadiness) and/or temporary loss of control of bodily movements, inflammation of some nerves, possibly with pins and needles or loss of feeling or normal movement (Guillain-Barré syndrome)
  • Narrowing or blockage of blood vessels
  • Erythema multiforme (symptoms are red, often itchy spots, similar to the rash of measles, which starts on the limbs and sometimes on the face and the rest of the body)
  • Measles and mumps like symptoms (including transient, painful swelling of the testicles and swollen glands in the neck)

For the M-M-RvaxPro, the following side effects have been reported:

Very common (may affect more than one in 10 vaccines):

  • Fever (38.5 °C or higher)
  • Injection site redness; injection site pain; injection site swelling

Common (may affect up to one in 10 vaccines):

  • Rash (including a measles-like rash)
  • Injection site bruising

Uncommon (may affect up to one in 100 vaccines):

  • Nasal congestion and sore throat; upper respiratory tract infection or viral infection; runny nose
  • Crying
  • Diarrhoea, vomiting
  • Hives
  • Injection site rash

Some other very rare side effects were reported with the use of M-M-RvaxPro or with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine manufactured by Merck & Co., Inc., or with its monovalent (single) components, during post-marketing use and/or during clinical studies. The frequency of these side effects cannot be known with the available data but are listed in full in the M-M-RvaxPro patient information leaflet that we’ve linked to below.

If your child has a history of allergies or is allergic to any of the ingredients in a mumps-containing vaccine (including egg protein), please let us know as this will help us to decide if and when the vaccination should be given.

It’s also important that you tell us if your child has any heart, liver, or kidney problems, if they have a weakened immune system, or if they’re taking any medication.

If your child has a severe infection with a high temperature on the day the vaccine is scheduled to take place, we may recommend postponing the appointment. A minor infection such as a cold should not be a problem.

The MMR vaccines that offer protection against mumps are usually given as an injection in the thigh or upper arm.

A clinical study showed that Priorix protected 66.7% of all children vaccinated against mumps after one dose. However, the vaccine effectiveness increased in children aged four and over, protecting 82.3% after one dose and 86.5% after two doses.

The Vaccine Knowledge Project says that M-M-RvaxPro is around 86% effective against mumps after two doses.

We can perform a blood test to check immunity before deciding whether a second dose is needed.

Priorix and M-M-RvaxPro are both suitable over 12 months of age but can be administered to infants between nine and 12 months under special circumstances – for example, if they are in contact with pregnant women who could be at risk from measles, mumps or rubella.

Current recommendations are that children have the first dose between 12 and 15 months and a second dose between four to six years of age. We can do an antibody blood test to determine if a second dose is needed.

Some children only need one dose of the MMR vaccine to develop immunity against mumps. Others need a second dose. We can check this with a blood test.

If an adult hasn’t been vaccinated against mumps or is worried about their level of immunity, it’s possible to check this with a blood test. If needed, mumps-containing vaccines can be given to adults, especially those in high-risk environments such as healthcare settings, higher education institutions or international travellers.

Yes, either Priorix or M-M-RvaxPro may be given at the same time as most other vaccines.

If you are planning to travel and your child needs a Yellow Fever vaccine, this must be given at a minimum four-week interval between the two vaccines.

If the MMR vaccine is not delivered on the same day as a Varicella vaccine against chickenpox, then a minimum four-week interval must be observed between them.

If your child needs a Mantoux tuberculin skin test, the MMR vaccine should be delayed until the skin test has been read unless protection against measles is urgently required.

You can read more about recommended vaccination intervals in the government’s Green Book of Immunisation.

No, a skin test is not required. However, we may offer a blood test if your child has had a previous dose of the vaccine, and we want to check their level of immunity.

The MMR vaccine is part of the NHS childhood vaccination schedule and offers protection against measles, mumps, and rubella. The first dose is given at 12 months and the second at three years and four months.

A single mumps vaccine is not available.

Ingredients of the MMR vaccines

Name: Priorix

Age: Suitable from 12 months onwards (can be given from 9 months in special circumstances)

Manufacturer: GlaxoSmithKline

Active ingredients: Live attenuated measles virus (Schwarz strain), live attenuated mumps virus (RIT 4385 strain, derived from Jeryl Lynn strain), and rubella live attenuated virus (Wistar RA 27/3 strain)

Other ingredients: Amino acids (containing phenylalanine*), lactose (anhydrous), mannitol (E 421), sorbitol (E 420), medium 199 (containing phenylalanine, para-aminobenzoic acid, sodium, and potassium); water for injections

*Phenylalanine may be harmful to people with phenylketonuria (PKU)

Mercury content: Nil

Aluminium content: Nil

Contains porcine gelatin?: No

Contains dairy products?: Yes

Licensed for use in the UK

Priorix patient information leaflet: Click to view

Name: M-M-RvaxPro

Age: Suitable from 12 months (can be given from 9 months in special circumstances)

Manufacturer: Merck Sharp and Dohme

Active ingredients: Measles virus1 Enders’ Edmonston strain (live, attenuated) – not less than 1×103 TCID50; Mumps virus1 Jeryl Lynn™ [Level B] strain (live, attenuated) – not less than 12.5×103 TCID50; Rubella virus 2 Wistar RA 27/3 strain (live, attenuated) – not less than 1×103 TCID50

Other ingredients: Sorbitol (E 420), sodium phosphate (NaH2PO4/Na2HPO4), potassium phosphate (KH2PO4/K2HPO4), sucrose, hydrolysed gelatine, medium 199 with Hanks’ salts, MEM, monosodium L-glutamate, neomycin, phenol red, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), hydrochloric acid (HCl) (to adjust pH), and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (to adjust pH); water for injection

Mercury content: Nil

Aluminium content: Nil

Contains porcine gelatin?: Yes

Contains dairy products?: No

Licensed for use in the UK

M-M-RvaxPro patient information leaflet: Click to view

Aftercare

We’ll give you detailed aftercare advice for your child after their vaccination(s), including what to do in the event of any side effects.

Your child may experience some redness, tenderness and/or swelling at the injection site, so it’s helpful to expect this. These side effects should self-resolve within a few days.

You can download our Patient Aftercare leaflet here.

If your child is unwell outside of clinic hours, please call 111 for advice or go to A&E if they need urgent medical attention.

Individual advice about mumps vaccination

Need advice about which MMR vaccination would be suitable for your child? The BabyJabs team is here to listen and answer your questions to help you decide.