Would Hunters Take A Lyme Disease Vaccine? We Asked

Lyme disease vaccine planning is gaining urgency as tick season worsens, and a new vaccine could face particular skepticism among rural hunters. With climate change expanding tick ranges, Pfizer and Valneva said this spring they plan to seek regulatory approval for a Lyme vaccine, following a prior late-1990s vaccine that was pulled after three years due to lawsuits, fear of side effects and limited interest. KFF Health News interviewed seven hunters, including one hiker, after research described the group as more conservative, rural and male—attributes linked to vaccine hesitancy. About 476,000 people in the U.S. may be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year, the CDC says, with the reported range expanding significantly since 1995. Interviewees generally said they would consider vaccination if safety, effectiveness and personal risk were clearer. The most positive respondent believed she may have had Lyme before, though she was never formally diagnosed.