A chikungunya vaccine is nearing approval. Who will get it
Published on November 6, 2023
The first vaccine against the mosquito-borne viral disease chikungunya will likely come to market next month. With the debilitating disease now afflicting more than half the countries in the world and threatening to spread further, the imminent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the vaccine is “great news,” says Scott Weaver, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch whose own lab started to work on a chikungunya vaccine nearly 2 decades ago.
The vaccine, made by the French company Valneva, will likely be recommended mainly to U.S. travelers at first. But many expect an FDA approval will also grease the wheels for the vaccine to become available in the most affected countries.