During an appearance on Fox & Friends Weekend, Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discussed the surge in estimated cases of Lyme disease in the United States and Pfizer’s development of a new vaccine for the illness. Siegel noted that Pfizer’s Lyme disease vaccine should be available “in a few months,” adding, “I have a feeling with this spotlight they may fast-track it. It’s a completely safe vaccine based on older technology.” He described the vaccine as “very promising” and “going to be useful,” emphasizing that unlike previous iterations, this shot is both safe and effective.
Pfizer announced Monday it will seek regulatory approval for a Lyme disease vaccine candidate despite the shot failing a late-stage trial. The company stated the vaccine missed statistical goals because insufficient participants contracted Lyme disease during the study. However, Pfizer reported the vaccine reduced infection rates by more than 70% compared to placebo in the VALOR trial—a level of efficacy the company believes is strong enough for regulatory review. Annaliesa Anderson, Pfizer’s Chief Vaccines Officer, stated in a press release: “The efficacy shown in the VALOR study… creates confidence in the vaccine’s potential to protect against this disease.”
While Pfizer has billed Lyme vaccination as a major catalyst for its 2024 revenue targets, the vaccine is not expected to become a best-seller. Valneva, Pfizer’s partner, estimates peak annual sales of $1 billion, representing less than 2% of Pfizer’s projected $60 billion global revenue this year—over half of which comes from COVID-19 vaccines.
Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene recently remarked: “I don’t want any more safe and effective vaccines. I want them to stop engineering ticks and viruses as bio weapons.” Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a federal initiative targeting Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, stating: “We didn’t really have a tick problem in this country until the 1980s” and urging action to reduce tick populations. He highlighted that Lyme disease affects an estimated 476,000 Americans annually and emphasized May as Lyme Disease Awareness Month.
The last Lyme vaccine, LYMErix, launched in 1998 but was discontinued after four years due to low sales driven by safety concerns—though it reduced infections in vaccinated adults by nearly 80%, according to Cambridge University Press research. Lyme disease is transmitted through blacklegged ticks attached for over 24 hours and typically requires a 10- to 14-day antibiotic course for treatment, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
