FILE - In the backlight, the shadow of a tick can be seen on a leaf. (Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images) DUNCANSVILLE, Pa. - Researchers are seeking thousands of volunteers in the U.S.
and Europe to test the first potential vaccine against Lyme disease in 20 years -- in hopes of better fighting the tick-borne threat.Lyme is a growing problem, with cases rising and warming weather helping ticks expand their habitat.
While a vaccine for dogs has long been available, the only Lyme vaccine for humans was pulled off the U.S. market in 2002 from lack of demand, leaving people to rely on bug spray and tick checks.Now Pfizer and French biotech Valneva are aiming to avoid previous pitfalls in developing a new vaccine to protect both adults and kids as young as 5 from the most common Lyme strains on two continents."There wasn’t such a recognition, I think, of the severity of Lyme disease" and how many people it affects the last time around, Pfizer vaccine chief Annaliesa Anderson told The Associated Press.Robert Terwilliger, an avid hunter and hiker, was first in line Friday when the study opened in central Pennsylvania.
He’s seen lots of friends get Lyme and is tired of wondering if his next tick bite will make him sick."It’s always a worry, you know?