Rutgers Is A Test Site For First-Ever Kids' Vaccine For Lyme Disease

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — This April, Rutgers launched a pediatric study for a vaccine for Lyme disease.

This would be the first-ever vaccine to prevent Lyme disease in children ages 5 to 17.

There is no existing Lyme disease vaccine for adults.

Rutgers has been selected as a clinical trial site by Pfizer to test the vaccine; Pfizer has partnered with French vaccine maker Valneva SE to create the pediatric Lyme vaccine. Pfizer frequently used Rutgers University as a test site for its coronavirus vaccine and booster shots for adults and children.

Pfizer/Valneva are testing their Lyme vaccine at approximately 50 research sites nationwide and Rutgers is the only clinical trial site in New Jersey.

Rutgers, through its Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, is currently enrolling 50 to 100 children ages 5 to 17 for the two-year study. The study will ultimately consist of 3,000 children total across the United States. Children should not have been diagnosed with Lyme disease in the past three months.

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria, called Borrelia burgdorferi, that is transferred to humans through the bite of an infected tick. If left untreated, the bacteria can spread through the bloodstream and cause serious problems in the brain, joints and heart.

The ticks that carry Lyme disease are common throughout New Jersey.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease, which is more common in children and teens.

Here is how the study will work:

Three out of four participants who meet the eligibility requirements for the study will be provided doses of the vaccine, while the remaining one quarter children will receive a placebo. Three doses will be given in the first six months, with a booster shot one year later.

Participants will be required to have six follow-up visits with the study team in New Brunswick, where there will be clinical evaluation as well as two follow-up phone calls over the course of the study.

The below is from Dr. Sunanda Gaur, director of the Rutgers Pediatric Clinical Research Center and who is running the trial:

“Developing a vaccine is important because currently the only prevention is protecting children from tick bites through clothing and insect repellant and then checking them for ticks after they play outside, especially if they are in the woods or in grassy areas,” she said. “They are most at risk during the spring and summer when ticks are most active.”

For more information or to possibly enroll your child, email lyme_study@rwjms.rutgers.edu