Thread by @BeauxReliosis

“VLA15…uses an established mechanism of action for a Lyme disease vaccine that targets the outer surface protein A (OspA) of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.”

pharmamanufacturing.com/development/cl…

#LymeDisease
What’s wrong with this statement?
⬇️

Yes, Borrelia burgdorferi cause #LymeDisease but more specifically, it’s the outer surface proteins that cause the disease. Including OspA. So, injecting OspA made in a lab is a really, really bad idea.

Also, anti-OspA antibody level is not a valid correlate of protection. Borrelia evade immunity through a mechanism called antigenic variation, in which they secrete outer surface proteins (Osps) and replace them with Osps that promote their survival under varying conditions.

That means the bacteria that cause #LymeDisease are a moving target. Antibodies to just one of literally hundreds of variable outer surface proteins cannot possibly confer immunity.

GSK & the promoters of their original #LymeDisease vax, #LYMErix, tried to get around this “problem” by claiming (absurdly) that a tick sucks up the OspA-antibody-laden blood which then kills Borrelia in the tick’s gut. Pfizer & Valneva are doubling down on that claim.

That’s the “established mechanism of action” the article mentions but doesn’t elaborate on. Borrelia produce OspA mainly within the tick gut environment—not in humans. So they had to come up with a story to support the selection of OspA as the vax antigen. #LymeDisease

This article touches on it:
“By blocking OspA, VLA15 prevents the bacterium from moving from its tick vector to humans.”

biospace.com/article/pfizer…

This statement is false.

Why?

#LymeDisease

All it will do is cause the Borrelia to slough off the OspA & express OspC on their outer surface. Then the tick will spit them *both* out into the victim, attached to the Borrelia or not.

#LymeDisease

badlymeattitude.com/2018/07/03/fun/