Tick Bites Push ER Visits Near 10-Year High as Lone Star Ticks Spread New Meat Allergy

Q: A new Lyme vaccine has passed clinical trials. When will it finally be available to the public?

Not yet. Even though the leading Lyme vaccine candidate, LB6V/VLA15 from Pfizer and Valneva, has completed Phase 3 trials, it is still not publicly available because it must clear regulatory review and then receive public-health recommendations. The key next step is approval by regulators such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. After that, the CDC’s advisory process would typically determine who should get it and in which regions it is recommended. That means trial success alone does not put the vaccine immediately into pharmacies or clinics. The timeline remains uncertain. Some reporting and company guidance point to a possible launch in 2027, with Pfizer previously signaling hopes for a spring 2027 release if approvals go smoothly. But there is no guaranteed public availability date yet, and some experts have said the data may face close scrutiny during review. So the practical answer is that the vaccine could arrive as early as 2027, but only if regulators approve it and the follow-on recommendation process moves quickly. Until then, it remains a promising candidate rather than an available shot.

3 articles · Updated · PBS NewsHour · Jul 6

CDC data show U.S. ER visits for tick bites are well above normal this year, nearing the worst levels seen in about a decade as ticks expand into new regions.
500,000 Americans get Lyme disease each year, but experts say lone star ticks are also driving concern by spreading alpha-gal syndrome, a delayed allergy to red meat and dairy.
Cold winter conditions, booming white-tailed deer populations and more housing near wooded exurbs have helped fuel tick encounters, according to Old Dominion University ecologist Holly Gaff.
CDC and WHO guidance recommends removing attached ticks with tweezers by pulling straight up, then checking people and pets consistently because faster removal reduces exposure to saliva and pathogens.