Auburn School District tells kids not vaccinated for mumps to stay home

The ongoing mumps outbreak in King County is forcing students in the Auburn School District who have not been vaccinated to stay home.

Most of the cases have been reported in Auburn, and mostly among school age children.

It’s the reason a letter was recently sent out to parents to ensure children get vaccinated against mumps or they won’t be allowed back to class for about a month.

Related: More children from Washington hospitalized with ‘polio-like’ illness

So far, there are 36 cases of mumps confirmed in King County, 32 of which are in Auburn.

The school district says students who have gotten two doses of the MMR vaccine are fine to come to class.

If they have just had one dose, they are OK to attend class, but are recommended to get a second dose.

But students who are not vaccinated, and whose parents are not willing to get them the shots, will be barred from class for 25 days.

So far, five schools in Auburn have reported cases of mumps.

Dr. Jeff Duchin of the health department says some people don’t respond to the vaccine so outbreaks can still occur, but if unvaccinated, many more people would become ill.

“It does leave some number of people who may still be vulnerable and can acquire the infection and spread it,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, with the Seattle King County Health Department.

But Duchin said the vaccine is still worth getting: “Before we had the vaccine, mumps was a major cause of viral meningitis, cause inflammation of the brain, of the testes, of the ovaries in women.”

Once a person is vaccinated, there is no need for booster shots.