How does mumps vaccine prevent you from getting mumps?

Answer 1

How does any vaccine work!

A piece of the virus is isolated and made less harmful ( attenutated)
it is then combined with serum and injected into the body. Because the body sees this protein as foreign It immediately forms antibodies. It forms as a sort of key that fits into the shape of the invader and blocks its ability for replication and giving rise to the infection of whatever, in this case mumps.
So if you come in contact at a later date with someone who has mumps then your body already recognises the invader (antigens) and is prepared with the right soldiers (anti bodies) to fight the problem. So you have only a mild illness or none at all Clever isn't it?

Answer 2

The MMR vaccine contains weakened forms of the natural viruses to
give protection against disease without the risks associated with
natural infection. MMR vaccine contains measles, mumps and rubella
viruses that have been modified so that they no longer cause disease
symptoms in humans. The vaccine has been developed to produce an
immune response sufficient to protect children against the real disease,
with no illness at all or only a very mild version of the illness.
A child will be injected with the vaccine and this causes the immune
system to respond and destroy the vaccine viruses. The immune system
‘remembers’ the virus so that there is a prompt response if exposure
occurs again. The viruses in the vaccine and the natural viruses are very
similar so the immune system responds to both. Therefore if a child is
later infected with the real viruses these are very quickly recognised by
the immune system which reacts rapidly to the halt the infection.

Answer 3

Like all vaccines. It gives you a weak version of mumps. Your body defeats them easily. But it develops antibodies for them. So when you get real mumps, your body defeats it easily because it has the antibodies all ready to do so.

Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccination