Lyme Vaccines Are Finally Coming, and They May Not Look Like You'd Expect

As climate change shortens winters, warm-weather-loving ticks stay active for longer. Meanwhile, construction developments break up ecosystems, and the deer and mice that act as reservoirs for the Lyme-causing bacteria romp through suburbs unchecked. The number of Lyme disease cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CD) has more than doubled in the last 20 years. More than 475,000 people are diagnosed or treated for Lyme disease each year, according to CDC estimates. Once contained to small sections of the Northeast U.S. and Midwest, Lyme disease cases have skyrocketed in those regions, and tick-borne diseases are proliferating in Western states. The rash, fever, and fatigue that typically accompany Lyme disease usually clear up after a few weeks of oral antibiotic treatment. But if left untreated for long enough, the disease can spread to the heart, joints, and nervous system, causing pain and difficulties thinking for more than six months after treatment.1 B

As climate change shortens winters, warm-weather-loving ticks stay active for longer. Meanwhile, construction developments break up ecosystems, and the deer and mice that act as reservoirs for the Lyme-causing bacteria romp through suburbs unchecked. The number of Lyme disease cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CD) has more than doubled in the last 20 years. More than 475,000 people are diagnosed or treated for Lyme disease each year, according to CDC estimates. Once contained to small sections of the Northeast U.S. and Midwest, Lyme disease cases have skyrockete