VLA15 Archives – Skeptical Raptor

2022-05-042022-05-04

Pfizer-Valneva Lyme disease vaccine — phase 2 pediatric trials results

I have previously discussed a Lyme disease vaccine candidate from Pfizer and Valneva that is starting a phase 3 clinical trial. However, the companies are keeping us updated with their phase 2 results, and there has been exciting news — the pediatric trial (in 5-17-year-olds) showed strong immunogenicity for the new Pfizer-Valneva vaccine.

Of course, dogs have had access to a Lyme disease vaccine, but there has not been a vaccine available for humans for over 20 years. It’s not that dogs are more important than humans (though many of us might argue that point), but about 20 years ago, the anti-vaxxers got the vaccine pulled from the market, one of their few “successes” in getting rid of useful vaccines.

But a small company, Valneva, in partnership with Pfizer, has developed a new vaccine that will be entering Phase 3 clinical trials real soon. Hopefully, we’ll have it in just a few more years.

Let’s first take a look at this disease, and then we will review the vaccine itself along with new results.

2022-03-182022-03-18

Valneva-Pfizer Lyme disease vaccine — phase 3 trials to start soon

There is a new vaccine that is under investigation that could help us stop Lyme disease, and it’s beginning phase 3 clinical trials soon. That means we could have this vaccine widely available in just a few years.

Of course, dogs have had access to a Lyme disease vaccine, but there has not been a vaccine available for humans for over 20 years. It’s not that dogs are more important than humans (though many of us might argue that point), it’s just that about 20 years the anti-vaxxers got the vaccine pulled from the market, one of their few “successes” in getting rid of useful vaccines.

But a small company, Valneva, is getting a safe and effective vaccine moving down the development pathway. Hopefully, we’ll have it in just a few more years.

Let’s take a look at this disease.

2020-08-032020-09-09

Lyme disease vaccine update – very good news from clinical trials

Time to talk about something different (you know, all coronavirus, all the time) like a potential Lyme disease vaccine. A new vaccine for this terrible disease has just completed phase 2 clinical trials, and the results look promising.

As opposed to the mad rush to get a COVID-19 vaccine, this new Lyme disease vaccine has taken several years just to get to this point. But the news is good, so there’s that.

Of course, dogs have had access to a Lyme disease vaccine, but there has not been a vaccine available for humans for 18 years. It’s not that dogs are more important than humans (though many of us might argue that point), it’s just that about 20 years the anti-vaxxers, one of their few “successes,” got the vaccine pulled from the market.

But a small company, Valneva, is getting a good vaccine moving down the development pathway. Hopefully, we’ll have it in a few years.

Let’s take a look at this disease.

Continue reading “Lyme disease vaccine update – very good news from clinical trials”

2019-08-282019-08-28

Lyme disease vaccine in clinical trials – good news for everyone

Even though dogs have access to a Lyme disease vaccine, there has not been a vaccine available for humans for 18 years. But that’s about to change, considering how much the tick responsible for the disease has spread.

Just to be clear, vaccine manufacturers do not value dogs more than humans for a Lyme disease vaccine. In reality, the blame for why there isn’t a Lyme disease vaccine can be placed right where some of you expect it to be – loud-mouthed, misinformed anti-vaccine zealots who lacked any scientific evidence supporting their claims.

Of course, the issues with the original Lyme disease vaccine happened in the mid-1990s, and the internet was in its infancy (hello AltaVista). But there were people pushing the same narrative that we hear about the cancer-preventing HPV vaccine – they claimed, without any scientific evidence, that the Lyme disease vaccine was actually worse than the disease itself.

That certainly sounds familiar!

But a new Lyme disease vaccine might be on its way fairly soon. That means adults and children can run in the grass, go hiking, and generally enjoy the outdoors without worrying about this debilitating disease.

Continue reading “Lyme disease vaccine in clinical trials – good news for everyone”