Brazilian health authorities, through the National Health Surveillance Agency (Avinsa), approved the registration of the first chikungunya vaccine.

This achievement stems from the research work of the Brazilian Butantan Institute, the largest public vaccine manufacturer in Latin America, in conjunction with the Franco-Austrian pharmaceutical company Valneva.

The Butantan Institute issued a statement announcing that “the vaccine was approved by Anvisa after being evaluated in the United States” in 4,000 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 65.

The vaccine showed a good safety profile and high immunogenicity: “98.9 % of the clinical trial participants produced neutralizing antibodies, with levels that remained robust for at least six months.”

As is known, chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Last year, in Brazil, “267,000 probable cases of the disease and at least 213 deaths were recorded,” according to data from the Ministry of Health. With the vaccine’s approval, it will be available for use in the country by the population over 18 years of age.

It is important to note that this chikungunya vaccine, the first in the world, “has already received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States regulatory agency, and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) of the European Union.”

In Brazil, its implementation now depends on its incorporation into the public health system by the National Commission for the Incorporation of Technologies into the Unified Health System (Conitec), of the Ministry of Health, which could establish a vaccination plan, prioritizing residents of endemic regions, according to Esper Kallás, director of the Butantan Institute.

M.Pino

Source: xinhuanet

(Reference image source: Etactics Inc on Unsplash)

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