The United Kingdom’s medicine regulator has suspended a newly approved vaccine for elderly individuals after reports of two deaths and nearly two dozen serious adverse reactions.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved French vaccine maker Valneva’s shot against Chikungunya virus, transmitted by mosquitoes, in February for individuals 18 and older.

The agency will temporarily restrict the vaccine from being given to anyone 65 and older.

“The decision to restrict the licence until further review is based on global data which has highlighted 23 cases of serious adverse reactions, including two cases reporting a fatal outcome, in people aged from 62 to 89 years of age who received the vaccine,” the regulator said, according to Reuters.

“While the jab, called IXCHIQ, is approved in the UK it has yet to be rolled out, so there are no immediate safety concerns,” Daily Mail noted.

UK vaccine chiefs suspend newly approved jab for over 65s – reports of two deaths and 21 severe reactions

The vaccine is for the Chikungunya virus, which isn't found in the UK, but Britons can catch it from overseas and fall ill when they return homehttps://t.co/Jb4tRoOeVD pic.twitter.com/2jhULEipDK

— “Sudden And Unexpected” (@toobaffled) June 9, 2025

Per Reuters:

The adverse events were reported in the French overseas territory of La Reunion, where a chikungunya outbreak was reported earlier this year.

MHRA’s decision comes after the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in May suspended the use of the vaccine in the age group.

The French Government was the first to take the step in April.

If a jab can be suspended due to two deaths and twenty-one severe reactions, ask yourself this question: why hasn’t the COVID jab been suspended yet? pic.twitter.com/ceQ7EB8eRc

— Luther ‘Ćyrus’ (@Censored4sure) June 11, 2025

Daily Mail reports:

One death involved an 84-year-old man who developed encephalitis—a swelling of the brain—after having an adverse reaction to the vaccine.

The other was a 77-year-old man living with Parkinson’s disease who reportedly began finding swallowing increasingly difficult after the jab.

This is believed to have triggered aspiration pneumonia, a serious infection caused by food, saliva and/or vomit entering the lungs rather than the stomach.

The European Medicines Agency, who are reviewing the chikungunya vaccine following the reports, has not yet revealed the time between the dead men receiving the jabs and their deaths.

There are no changes in the recommendations for vaccination with IXCHIQ for people aged between 18 and 64.

The vaccine is currently not approved for use in individuals with a weakened immune system as a result of disease or medical therapy.

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The decision by the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) is a precautionary measure until a further safety review has been concluded.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is working with the vaccine manufacturer Valneva.

The majority of people infected with Chikungunya develop a sudden fever and severe pain in multiple joints.

Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash.