U.S. officials are recommending that adults aged 60 and up not receive the only available chikungunya vaccine after reports that older individuals who received the shot suffered severe symptoms typically associated with the chikungunya virus.
Two of the patients died.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a May 9 alert that they are advising a pause in vaccinating adults aged 60 and up “while the Agencies investigate postmarketing reports of serious adverse events, including neurologic and cardiac events, in individuals who have received the vaccine.”
The vaccine, known as Ixchiq and made by Valneva, contains a live, weakened version of the chikungunya virus and can, in some cases, cause symptoms similar to those caused by the virus, according to the FDA’s label for the shot….