CINCINNATI (WKRC) — A vaccine designed to protect against chikungunya, a mosquito-borne illness, has been temporarily paused for individuals aged 60 and older, according to a recent safety communication from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Dr. Anar Patel, an infectious disease specialist at TriHealth, explained that the vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine, meaning it uses a weakened form of the virus to help the body build immunity. However, in some older adults, adverse events have been reported.
“What they saw, they had a few cases, they had about six people that they identified that had adverse events related to the vaccine, and all of those people were above the age of 60,” said Dr. Patel. The reactions were similar to having the chikungunya virus itself, resulting in hospitalization, and one person died from encephalitis, a brain infection…