US government urges older people not to get chikungunya vaccine

The US government has warned older American travellers not to get the chikungunya vaccine as they investigate reports of serious side effects. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted notices regarding the vaccine, Valneva’s Ixchiq (Picture: Getty)

Around 100 to 200 cases of chikungunya are reported in the US annually by travellers. The disease is spread by the bites of infected mosquitos and can cause severe joint and muscle pain. Other symptoms include sudden high fever, headache, fatigue, rash, nausea and red eyes. Although most people can recover from the disease in around a week, others can have lasting joint pain. And, last year, the US government began recommending the vaccine (Picture: Getty)

The vaccine is made with a weakened version of the chikungunya virus, and was given to US adults who travel to where chikungunya is a problem. These include countries in Africa, South America, Asia, Europe and islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. However, last year a panel of experts who advise the CDC heard there were some issues with the vaccine which may cause symptoms similar to those of chikungunya disease (Picture: Getty)

There was an investigation into six American people, all of whom were 65 or older, who mostly had other medical issues. A week after having the vaccines, they became ill with heart or brain symptoms. And 11 other similar cases have been reported from people in other countries – including two that have resulted in death. Previously, the safety of Ixchiq was evaluated in two clinical studies which were conducted in North America (Picture: Getty)

The trials featured around 3,500 participants who were 18 years or older. One study even had 1,000 participants receive a placebo. Participants who received the vaccine most commonly reported side effects of headache, fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain, fever, nausea, and tenderness at the injection site. And although not common in the clinical trials, severe chikungunya-like adverse reactions were found to prevent daily activity with some even needing medical intervention. This occurred in 1.6% of Ixchiq recipients but none of the placebo recipients. Two of these participants were hospitialised and some others had prolonged chikungunya-like adverse reactions that lasted for at least 30 days (Picture: Getty)

So now, the FDA and CDC are looking into the use of Ixchiq in individuals 60 years of age and older. And while this is happening, the FDA and CDC are recommending a pause in use of the vaccine in this age group. They will update the public when they complete their evaluation with their findings (Picture: Getty)

However, a US panel of medical experts also recommended that a second chikungunya vaccine, known as Bavarian Nordic’s Vimkunya should be made available for those who are 12 and older who are travelling to countries where there are outbreaks of the mosquito-borne illness. However, CDC officials have not yet announced whether they will accept those recommendations (Picture: Getty)