ACIP Votes to Recommend Vimkunya for Prevention of Chikungunya Virus
The recommendation includes patients 12 years and older traveling to a country where there is a chikungunya outbreak or where there is an elevated risk for US travelers.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend a single dose of the chikungunya vaccine, recombinant (Vimkunya), for the prevention of disease caused by the chikungunya virus. The recommendation includes patients 12 years and older traveling to a country where there is a chikungunya outbreak or patients traveling or living in a place without an outbreak but with an elevated risk for US travelers.1
The recommendation includes patients 12 years and older traveling to a country where there is a chikungunya outbreak or where there is an elevated risk for US travelers. | Image Credit: lubero - stock.adobe.com
“The ACIP’s recommendation of our chikungunya vaccine for Americans aged 12 and older is a big step forward to expanding access to this vaccine in the United States,” Paul Chaplin, president and CEO of Bavarian Nordic, said in a news release. “Chikungunya is an emerging public health threat around the world, and today’s decision is another milestone in our mission to protect more people from this virus.”
Chikungunya virus is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito, and outbreaks have occurred in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, according to the CDC. The most common symptoms include fever and joint pain but can also include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash. Currently, there are no medications to treat the virus, and although the best prevention is protection from mosquito bites, vaccination is recommended for some travelers.2
The vaccine was approved in February 2025, based on 2 phase 3 clinical trials. In the first trial (NCT05072080), investigators enrolled 3254 individuals who received either the vaccine or the placebo, which showed that vaccination was highly immunogenic up to 22 days postvaccination and had neutralizing antibodies in 98% of patients who were vaccinated. Further, post-2 weeks vaccination, the neutralizing antibodies were in 97% of patients and at 6 months was 86%. In the second study (NCT05349617), investigators found that 87% of adults 65 years and older had neutralizing antibodies.3
In 2023, the FDA approved the first licensed chikungunya virus, Ixchiq. It was indicated for adults 18 years and older who are at an increased risk of exposure. Ixchiq is a live attenuated vaccine that is a single-dose injection. Previous data from a phase 3 clinical trial (NCT04546724) showed that the vaccine met all primary and secondary end points, which included the proportion of patients with seropositive chikungunya virus antibody levels and immune response measured by chikungunya virus-specific neutralizing antibodies at 7, 28, and 84 days, according to an article.4
Investigators enrolled 4115 patients who were assigned treatment 3:1 to receive the vaccine or the placebo. They found that 98.9% of individuals reached a protective level of neutralizing antibodies 1 month postvaccination, according to the study data. Immunogenicity was maintained for 6 months for 96.3% of patients, and it was found to be highly immunogenic for patients 65 years and older.4
The recommendation is awaiting final approval by the director of the CDC and the US Department of Health and Human Services.1
READ MORE: Immunization Resource Center
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