The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has accepted an advisory panel’s recommendations on vaccines for chikungunya disease, which is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes.
ACIP recommended the virus-like particle chikungunya vaccine for people aged 12 or over who are traveling to a country or territory where there is a chikungunya outbreak.
Virus-like particles closely resemble viruses but are not infectious and do not contain genetic material. The panel stated that the virus-like particle vaccine may be considered for people over the age of 12 who are traveling to or residing in a country or territory without an outbreak but with an elevated risk for U.S. travelers if they plan to stay for an extended period of six months or more.
The panel also recommended the vaccine for laboratory workers with the potential for exposure to the chikungunya virus.
For people aged 18 and over who are traveling to a country or territory where there is a chikungunya outbreak, ACIP recommended the “live attenuated” chikungunya vaccine.
Live-attenuated vaccines use a weakened form of the virus that has not been completely inactivated. The panel said the live attenuated chikungunya vaccine may also be considered for those over the age of 18 who are traveling to or relocating to a country or territory where there is no outbreak but there is an elevated risk for travelers if they plan to stay for six months or more.
Both Bavarian Nordic and Valneva SE make vaccines for chikungunya, named Vimkunya and Ixchiq, respectively.
The CDC approved the recommendations on May 13.
The health agency’s official website states the chikungunya vaccine should be considered for persons aged 65 or over, particularly those with underlying medical conditions, who are likely to have at least moderate exposure to mosquitoes. The website does not mention the vaccine recommendations for individuals aged 12 and over.
What Is Chikungunya Virus?
Chikungunya virus is transmitted among humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes, mainly the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus species, according to the CDC.
Symptoms usually start within 3–7 days of being bitten by an infected mosquito and include fever and joint pain as well as headaches and a rash.
Most people start to recover within a week, and symptoms of the disease may be relieved through rest, fluids, and taking over-the-counter pain medications, though in some cases, joint pain can persist for months, the agency states.
Death from chikungunya is rare, but newborns infected around the time of birth, older adults, and those with underlying medical conditions are at risk of more severe disease.
Outbreaks have occurred in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, though locally acquired chikungunya cases have not been reported in the United States since 2019.
The CDC’s updated recommendations come after the FDA recommended pausing the use of Ixchiq for the virus in individuals aged 60 and over while it investigates reports of serious adverse reactions, including neurologic and cardiac events.
As of May 7, 17 adverse events, including two deaths, have been reported worldwide in people aged between 62 and 89 years who received the vaccine, according to the FDA. Six of the reports have been from the United States, the agency said.
The Epoch Times has contacted Valneva SE for comment.
