Lyme patients press Trump for funding, research

By Ariel Wittenberg | 02/03/2025 01:52 PM EST

President Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has faced fire for conspiracy theories about Lyme disease.

A blacklegged tick, which is also known as a deer tick.

A blacklegged tick is shown. CDC via AP

Patients who have suffered from Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses are hoping that the Trump administration heeds their concerns and boosts research.

That’s despite Robert F. Kennedy Jr. coming under fire last week for recent comments he made promoting conspiracy theories about Lyme disease’s origins during confirmation hearings for him to lead the nation’s health agency.

Warming temperatures due to climate change have helped spur a rise in Lyme because the ticks that carry the bacteria can live longer into the fall and sometimes don’t even die off in winter.

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“It’s irrelevant at this point to focus on the origins — what we do know for sure is that people are suffering and are being neglected and they need help,” said Lindsay Keys, a documentarian who herself has suffered from chronic Lyme disease. “We want to know how to diagnose this, how to treat it, and we want insurance companies to cover that treatment.”

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