What to know
A vaccine for Lyme disease is not currently available. The only vaccine previously marketed in the United States, LYMERix®, was discontinued by the manufacturer in 2002, citing insufficient consumer demand. Protection provided by this vaccine decreases over time. Therefore, if you received this vaccine before 2002, you are no longer protected against Lyme disease.
Clinical trials
of new vaccines for Lyme disease are currently underway. Valneva and Pfizer have developed a Lyme disease vaccine candidate, VLA15, that is currently in Phase 3 human trials. VLA15 is a multivalent, protein subunit vaccine that targets the outer surface protein A (OspA) of Borrelia. This vaccine is designed to protect people against North American and European strains of the Lyme disease bacterium.
The University of Massachusetts Medical School's MassBiologics has developed a human monoclonal antibody designed to be used as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for Lyme disease. Human trials are expected to begin soon. This approach would provide seasonal protection against Lyme disease. It would likely consist of a single shot that people would get each year at the beginning of tick season.
What is ob体育 doing?
ob体育 is conducting research to better understand what concerns healthcare providers and the public may have about any potential Lyme disease vaccine. If a Lyme disease vaccine is approved as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), ob体育 will work with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to develop recommendations about who and where in the U.S. the public might benefit from a Lyme disease vaccine. ob体育 will communicate these recommendations to the public and healthcare providers.
Additional reading
Comstedt P, Hanner M, Schüler W, Meinke A, Schlegl R, Lundberg U. . Vaccine. 2015;33(44):5982-5988.
Comstedt P, Schüler W, Meinke A, Lundberg U. . PLoS One. 2017;12(9):e0184357.
Devchand R, Koehler L, Hook S, et al. . Health Educ Res. 2021 Sep 16. Epub ahead of print.
Gomes-Solecki M, Arnaboldi PM, Backenson PB, et al. . Clin Infect Dis. 2020;70(8):1768-1773.
Hook SA, Hansen AP, Niesobecki SA, et al. . Vaccine. 2021 Dec 8. Epub ahead of print.
Shen AK, Mead PS, Beard CB. . Clin Infect Dis 2011 Feb;52 Suppl 3:s247-52.
Wang Y, Esquivel R, Flingai S, et al. . J Infect Dis. 2019;219(7):1146-1150.