Brazil’s national drug regulator, Anvisa, on Monday (May 4), authorized the Butantan Institute to manufacture the chikungunya vaccine, Butantan-Chik.

With this authorization, the vaccine can now be incorporated into the country’s public healthcare network, the SUS. It is indicated for people aged 18 to 59 who have been exposed to the virus.

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Following this authorization, the Butantan Institute has also been officially designated as a manufacturing site. The vaccine was approved by the regulatory agency in April 2025, but the registered production sites were the facilities of the Franco-Austrian pharmaceutical company Valneva. It will now be produced (formulated and bottled) in Brazil with the same quality, safety, and efficacy, according to the São Paulo state government.

“This is another important milestone for the Butantan Institute and for public health. By carrying out most of the manufacturing process, the institute, as a public institution, will be able to deliver the vaccine at a lower, more affordable price, with the same quality and safety,” said the institute’s director, Esper Kallás.

At least 4,000 volunteers, aged 18 to 65, received the vaccine in the United States and were evaluated. According to results published in the medical journal The Lancet in 2023, 98.9 percent of participants produced neutralizing antibodies.

The vaccine was well tolerated and showed a favorable safety profile, with adverse events that were generally mild to moderate, most commonly headache, body aches, fatigue, and fever.

In February 2026, the vaccine began to be administered through the SUS in municipalities with high disease incidence, as part of a pilot strategy by the Ministry of Health. In addition to Brazil, the chikungunya vaccine has been approved in Canada and Europe.

Chikungunya

The chikungunya virus is transmitted by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also transmits dengue and Zika.

The disease can cause sudden-onset fever (above 38.5°C) and severe pain in the joints of the feet and hands - such as the fingers, ankles, and wrists. Other common symptoms include headache, muscle pain, and red spots on the skin.

According to the Pan American Health Organization, 500,000 cases of chikungunya were reported worldwide in 2025.

In Brazil, more than 127,000 cases and 125 deaths were reported in the same year, according to the Ministry of Health.

The disease causes chronic joint pain, which can last for months to years and severely affect quality of life.