T he Center for Lyme Action (CLA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing federal funding for Lyme disease research, has outlined a strategy to eliminate Lyme disease by 2030.
Dubbed the “Lyme Moonshot,” the initiative calls for establishing a TICK office in the White House to coordinate efforts. TICK stands for Tick-borne Innovation, Collaboration, and Knowledge. (The moonshot label evokes President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 call for America to put a man on the moon within 10 years. It took a lot of coordinated effort, but we got there.)
Lyme disease affects more than 300,000 people per year in the United States, with 1.5 million people continuing to suffer from persistent Lyme symptoms. “The disease threatens all Americans. It demands a comprehensive national strategy with strong bipartisan support,” said Bonnie Crater, co-founder of the Center for Lyme Action.
Crater noted that Lyme patients currently have no reliable diagnostics and no practicable therapy for persistent conditions. “The Lyme Moonshot will leverage all of government alongside the private sector, research institutions, and healthcare providers.”
The bipartisan Kay Hagan Tick Act, co-authored in 2019 by senators Susan Collins, of Maine, and Tina Smith, of Minnesota, laid the groundwork for this initiative……Join or login below to continue reading.
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