French Drug Maker Announces Lyme Disease Vaccine

In the vaccine world, the holy grail of vaccine invention has long seemingly been that of Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is derived from bacteria transmitted from ticks (typically deer ticks). Lyme disease has long been prevalent in the northeast, including upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.

But it seems that there is finally an answer to all the calls. Valneva, a French-based pharmaceutical company, claims that it has a Lyme disease vaccine on the table that can prevent 96% of Lyme disease instances.  In fact, they just completed their first human trial.

According to an article in Sunday Telegraph, Valneva’s chief financial officer, David Lawrence, has invested $350 million into the Lyme disease vaccine.

About 600,000 people a year get Lyme disease, which is commonly associated with fatigue and a number of other symptoms that are commonly attributed to misdiagnosis. As it stands, a person bit by a tick can get a regimen of antibiotics early on and mostly resolve the matter. But if misdiagnosis plays out, or the person just doesn’t realize they’ve been infected, Lyme disease can create longterm issues.

The push for a Lyme disease vaccine has been fueled in large part by celebrities. Ben Stiller, Alec Baldwin, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, and Bella Hadid, are among a number of celebrities who have publicly stated that they deal with the ill-effects of Lyme disease. And well, celebrities love them some vaccines, so here we are.

Valneva claims the vaccine “kickstarts” the person’s immune system to fight the Lyme disease bacteria.

According to Pretty52

By targeting the gut of the tick as it’s eating human blood, the vaccine will attack the bacteria hiding inside the insect so it’s unable to enter the person’s blood.

The early trial found the vaccine to be between 71.4 and 96.4 percent effective.

So far, there has also been ‘no associated safety concerns’ for patients given the vaccination.

Maybe government officials will save us and push for mandatory Lyme disease vaccines nationwide, or disallow travel to Pennsylvania unless you are Lyme disease vaccinated. Something super convenient must be in the making.