Infectious Disease
Predictors of future Lyme disease vaccine acceptability among healthcare professionals in 2025: a cross-sectional survey Courtney Olson* Courtney Olson Olson Olson Olson Olson Olson Olson University of Iowa
Introduction: Lyme disease (LD) is one of the most common tick-borne diseases in the US with over 400,000 estimated diagnoses annually. Several candidate LD vaccines are currently in clinical trials and may be available soon. It is important to understand factors that may influence healthcare professionals (HCP) LD vaccine recommendations once a vaccine becomes available. In this study, we explored how LD symptom knowledge and local incidence might influence HCP LD vaccine recommendations.
Methods: We surveyed 750 primary care physicians who practice in US states with high or emerging LD incidence in July 2025. Participants indicated if ten symptoms (randomized display order) were associated with LD or not, with “Unsure” as a third response option. A “symptom knowledge” score was created based on total correct responses, with “Unsure” classified as incorrect. Mean knowledge scores were compared between high and emerging incidence areas using Independent Samples t- tests. We conducted an adjusted logistic regression controlling for demographic factors to determine the association of symptom knowledge and local LD incidence with likelihood to recommend LD vaccination to eligible patients.
Results: 739 completed all survey items included in the analyses. HCPs in emerging incidence areas had significantly lower symptom knowledge scores (7.96, SD=1.44) compared to HCPs in high incidence areas (8.24, SD=1.50; p=.01). Symptom knowledge score was not statistically associated with a future vaccination recommendation (aOR=1.06, 95% CI=0.92-1.22), while practicing in high incidence areas (aOR=2.32, 95% CI=1.53-3.53) was significantly associated with future vaccine recommendation compared to emerging incidence areas while holding all else constant.
Conclusions: Local LD incidence level may have a greater influence on HCP LD vaccine recommendations than symptom knowledge, indicating more efforts may need to be made in emerging LD incidence areas during future LD vaccine rollouts.