11–20 of 77 posts
The trials seemed to go well but I don't know the status of further trials that could lead to this coming to market. Lyme's a real problem though with sharp increases in infection rates in New England in particular.
The patent for LYMErix has expired [1] and the vaccine is still considered to be safe and effective by the FDA [2]. Someone want to start producing it again? [1] http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=... [2] http://www.jefftk.com/fda-lymerix.pdf
I wonder if a Federal law in the USA could prevent lawsuits for specific vaccines.
tl;dr: People who had irrational fears of vaccines claimed harms from the Lyme vaccine that probably were not caused by the vaccine. Sales dropped so much that vaccine manufacturers became reluctant to market the vaccine to humans. Similar irrational fears prompted the development of the "acellular" version of the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, which is less effective than the previously used version of the vacc…
Those fears were not in the slightest irrational. People had really really bad reactions to the regular pertussis to the point that people routinely advised new parents not to get it for their children.
The the new version is not as effective, that's true, but people refused the old version, and rightly so - the side effects were much worse.
So what's better a vaccine that doesn't work as well, that people are willing to take? Or a vaccine that works well, but far fewer people are willing to take it?
And on top of that since DTP was given as a unit, people refused the D and T parts as well (the Dr. may or may not have had it separately, but people weren't always so aware that the reactions were from the P, so refused the whole thing).
tl;dr: People who had irrational fears of vaccines claimed harms from the Lyme vaccine that probably were not caused by the vaccine. Sales dropped so much that vaccine manufacturers became reluctant to market the vaccine to humans. Similar irrational fears prompted the development of the "acellular" version of the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, which is less effective than the previously used version of the vacc…
No, people who actually got the vaccine claimed they got arthritis from it. Weather those claims are true or not remains unverified. Of course the clinical trials showed no such side effects, but I doubt they were even looking for that (if I'm really cynical, do you even trust them not to hide that?). So when mass-marketed, alleged issues showed up and they pulled it. This is not different from other drugs that were pulled - and turned out to have actual problems. The fact that vaccine makers are legally protected and they still pulled it says a lot here.
That said, TFA says the anti-vaxers are ready to attack any new lyme vaccine that may come along, and that's unfortunate.
I was disappointed over the lack of links in a web(!) article, so I did some research over this comment: Poland notes that since then, Lyme has become more widespread and is now the most common tick-borne disease in the country. Dr. Gregory Poland works in Mayo Clinic which is based in Minnesota. Here are statistics for Lyme disease in that country: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/diseases/lyme/stati... http…
Minnesota is a state.
Also, it's even more confusing because the states used to be considered different nations, united. Hence why they used to be called "these united states." Just an FYI.
The patent for LYMErix has expired [1] and the vaccine is still considered to be safe and effective by the FDA [2]. Someone want to start producing it again? [1] http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=... [2] http://www.jefftk.com/fda-lymerix.pdf
What about the prior lawsuits? Wouldn't it be inviting a fiasco? I wonder if a Federal law in the USA could prevent lawsuits for specific vaccines.
[EDIT: Actually this may not be correct (in this case) because LymeRix was a voluntary vaccination.]
Lyme disease can usually be treated by antibiotics, especially in the early stages: http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/treatment/ This isn't mentioned by the article anywhere and must be part of the cost-benefit analysis for deploying a vaccine, especially one which is to be only 80% effective and requires booster shots.
My aunt caught Lyme when visiting us in Europe (note that the European and American versions are different), and had to visit 5 different doctors before she got her treatment. The first two thought she was just overworked. By the third time my uncle (neurosurgeon, living in Europe) suggested she had Lyme. The third and fourth (Canadian) doctors refused to check it. The last one finally was willing to send a blood sample to the lab.
Lyme is very easily missed. It can manifest itself in a way that has nearly no visible symptoms, with only the patient claiming to be in enormous pain.
Lyme disease can usually be treated by antibiotics, especially in the early stages: http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/treatment/ This isn't mentioned by the article anywhere and must be part of the cost-benefit analysis for deploying a vaccine, especially one which is to be only 80% effective and requires booster shots.
My younger sister had lyme and was nearly paralyzed before it was discovered. Both of my parents are GPs . My aunt caught Lyme when visiting us in Europe (note that the European and American versions are different), and had to visit 5 different doctors before she got her treatment. The first two thought she was just overworked. By the third time my uncle (neurosurgeon, living in Europe) suggested she had Lyme. The th…
tl;dr: People who had irrational fears of vaccines claimed harms from the Lyme vaccine that probably were not caused by the vaccine. Sales dropped so much that vaccine manufacturers became reluctant to market the vaccine to humans. Similar irrational fears prompted the development of the "acellular" version of the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, which is less effective than the previously used version of the vacc…
>> People who had irrational fears of vaccines claimed harms from the Lyme vaccine that probably were not caused by the vaccine. No, people who actually got the vaccine claimed they got arthritis from it. Weather those claims are true or not remains unverified. Of course the clinical trials showed no such side effects, but I doubt they were even looking for that (if I'm really cynical, do you even trust them not to h…