Hunters express cautious interest in potential Lyme disease vaccine amid broader vaccine skepticism

Tick season is intensifying, and with Pfizer and Valneva moving toward regulatory approval of a new Lyme disease vaccine, questions are emerging about how it would be received — particularly among rural populations who spend the most time in tick-prone environments. KFF Health News spoke with seven hunters and one hiker at the Busch Shooting Range in Weldon Spring, Missouri, to gauge how the vaccine might land with a group that faces high exposure but also skews toward demographic groups associated with greater vaccine skepticism.

Of the eight people interviewed, one hunter said she would absolutely get the vaccine if it were approved. Six others said they would consider it but wanted more information about safety, effectiveness, and their personal risk. Only one said he would not be interested. According to KFF associate director Ashley Kirzinger, hunters as a group tend to be conservative, rural, and male — identities associated, in survey research, with higher rates of vaccine hesitancy or resistance.

Personal experience with Lyme disease shaped several responses. Author and outdoorsman Steven Rinella told KFF Health News that both he and his son contracted Lyme disease 13 years ago; his son developed Bell's palsy but recovered quickly, while Rinella himself experienced months of debilitating symptoms and required intravenous antibiotics. He said he would consider the vaccine if it proved safe and provided substantial protection. Among the Missouri hunters, those who had witnessed family members or close friends struggle with Lyme's sometimes difficult diagnosis and long-term effects tended to express more openness, while at least one hunter said the low odds he personally assigned to contracting the disease made him less inclined toward it.