The UK marketing authorisation for a chikungunya vaccine has been withdrawn because its benefits “no longer outweigh the risks”, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced today.
The medicines regulator said healthcare professionals should not prescribe or administer the IXCHIQ vaccine and instead “consider alternative measures” to support people travelling to areas where there is risk of contracting a chikungunya infection.
The MHRA made the decision following advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), as well as cases that “resulted in hospitalisation or death” since the vaccine was authorised.
Read more: Travel vaccine ‘temporarily paused’ for over-65s after two deaths
It said some cases involved “serious adverse reactions” including “chikungunya-like symptoms” and “rare neurological events such as encephalitis”.
Most of these cases occurred in older adults and people with underlying health conditions, but some were also reported in people “with no known health conditions”, it added.
The IXCHIQ vaccine is being removed from the UK market, and the MHRA has told healthcare professionals not to supply the jab and to dispose of any remaining stock “in accordance with local policies”.
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It advised that materials or communications about UK vaccination options should remove any reference to the IXCHIQ vaccine, and that healthcare professionals should tell travellers of other chikungunya vaccines and prevention measures, such as avoiding mosquito bites and following health-related travel advice.
Patients who have received the IXCHIQ vaccine do not need to do anything, but the MHRA reiterated that they should “seek medical advice” following any suspected adverse reaction after receiving the jab and report it through the Yellow Card scheme.
It comes after the CHM “temporarily paused” the chikungunya IXCHIQ vaccine for those aged 65 and over after two deaths were reported following vaccinations in July 2025.
