HEBER CITY, Utah — A family is warning others after their son fell ill with the mumps virus, despite being up to date on his immunizations.
“I would consider this the worst sickness I’ve had,” said 11-year-old Finn Price.
The fifth grader was sick last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“My jaw really, really hurt,” Finn said. “Chewing a lot of harder, crunchy foods was out of the question. The fever didn’t help at all.”
At first, doctors didn’t diagnose Finn with mumps. When a test returned a positive result, he and his parents were shocked.
“C’mon, he can’t have the mumps,” said Finn’s mom, Bethe Price, when asked about her reaction to the test result.
She wants families to know the mumps vaccine isn’t 100% effective.
“Unfortunately, vaccines like everything else in this world, is not a guarantee,” said Dr. Mary Tipton, a pediatrician at Copper View Medical Center.
Tipton emphasizes the importance of vaccinations in preventing large outbreaks of dangerous diseases.
Finn’s parents plan to make sure he gets any needed boosters.
“I don’t see the point in not having immunizations,” Kyle Price, Finn’s father, said.
“Definitely get your kids immunized. We’ll keep doing that, for sure,” said Bethe Price.
The Wasatch County Health Department released a statement, warning families with children at Old Mill Elementary of possible exposure.
The virus has an incubation period of up to 18 days, so there is a chance people may have contracted it and not yet be aware.
According to the Wasatch County Health Department’s statement, symptoms include pain in the cheek or jaw, fever, difficulty eating, tiredness and headache.
