HHS Unveils Sweeping Plan to Combat Lyme Disease and Advance Treatment

CONCORD-MAY 29, 2026-U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today announced a series of major initiatives to strengthen the nation's response to Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. HHS actions include a multi-million-dollar pilot program focused on tick control, up to $2.5 million in innovation challenges, funding for NIH researchers to combat Alpha-gal syndrome, and a public-private collaboration to help patients connect with experienced providers.

Secretary Kennedy delivered these announcements during a press conference in New Hampshire - one of the states hardest hit by Lyme disease - after convening a roundtable with state lawmakers and Lyme disease advocates as part of his "Take Back Your Health" tour.

"Millions of Americans battling Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses have spent years searching for answers, treatment, and support," said Secretary Kennedy. "Today, the Trump Administration is launching one of the most ambitious federal efforts ever to combat Lyme disease by accelerating research, expanding innovation, and improving care for patients and families. We are going after this disease at its source, driving faster diagnostics and new prevention strategies, and delivering the urgency and action Americans deserve."

Lyme disease remains one of the nation's fastest-growing vector-borne health threats. More than 476,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year, and recent data show emergency room visits for tick bites reached their highest springtime level in nearly a decade.

As part of the Department's broader strategy to address tick-borne diseases, HHS announced a new multi-million-dollar pilot program led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and HHS in collaboration with leading tick-control researchers. The initiative will develop and deploy practical strategies to target and eliminate ticks on wildlife before they can spread disease to humans.

The effort will begin with researchers at the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases and will build on existing community collaboration, including collaboration with the Indian Health Service (IHS) and the Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts. By reducing tick populations and disrupting breeding cycles, the initiative aims to slow disease transmission and protect more Americans from infection.

The Department also reaffirmed its goal of reducing Lyme disease cases by 25 percent by 2035 compared to 2022 levels.

HHS continues to support robust research into Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. The National Institutes of Health currently invests nearly $50 million annually in Lyme disease research and approximately $122 million annually in broader tick-borne disease research, including efforts focused on prevention, diagnostics, and treatment.

HHS also announced new actions to combat Alpha-gal syndrome, a tick-associated condition that can trigger potentially serious allergic reactions to red meat and other mammalian products. According to CDC estimates, nearly 500,000 Americans are living with Alpha-gal syndrome, though emerging evidence suggests the true number may be significantly higher.

Through ongoing discussions with private-sector innovators, NIH has preliminarily identified promising products that may help protect individuals from developing Alpha-gal syndrome following a tick bite. Under the anticipated collaboration, participating companies would provide candidate products while NIH would support and fund the clinical research needed to evaluate their effectiveness. HHS expects to provide additional details on the initiative in the coming months as part of its broader effort to accelerate innovation and improve outcomes for Americans affected by tick-borne illnesses.

HHS also announced three new LymeX innovation challenges, offering up to $2.5 million in total prize funding to accelerate breakthroughs in public awareness, treatment, and patient care.

The new challenges include:

• LymeX Visible Voices Prize, offering up to $250,000 to support educational tools and public awareness campaigns developed with input from patients, clinicians, and advocates.
• LymeX Healthathon Innovation Sprint, offering up to $250,000 to identify promising frontline solutions, including novel uses of existing medicines and drug repurposing strategies.
• TOPx HHS Tech Sprint for AI and Invisible Illness, offering up to $2 million - including a $1 million grand prize to harness artificial intelligence and open data to help patients with Lyme disease and other invisible illnesses receive answers and access care more quickly.

These initiatives build on the success of the LymeX Innovation Accelerator, the public-private collaboration between HHS and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation that was originally launched during President Trump's first term.

Through LymeX, HHS recently launched a $10 million Diagnostics Prize aimed at accelerating the development of faster, more accurate next-generation Lyme disease tests. Over the past two years, two improved FDA-cleared Lyme disease diagnostics have reached the market through the LymeX innovation ecosystem.

In addition, HHS announced a new public-private collaboration with the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). Through hhs.gov/lyme, patients will be able to access ILADS' clinician locator tool, helping connect individuals and families with experienced providers and educational resources related to Lyme disease and associated chronic conditions.

Secretary Kennedy also reiterated his support for reauthorization of the bipartisan Kay-Hagan Tick Act, which established the nation's first coordinated federal strategy for preventing and controlling vector-borne diseases.

The legislation was signed into law by President Trump in 2019 and recently advanced unanimously through the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

HHS' Lyme disease initiatives reflect the Trump administration's ongoing commitment to improving prevention, accelerating research, fostering innovation while ensuring patients receive timely and effective care.

For more information, visit hhs.gov/lyme.