Pfizer working to get approval on new Lyme disease vaccine. Expert says tick activity rising in New England.

Pfizer is working to get approval on a new vaccine that could protect people against Lyme disease, but the company could see pushback from the government following studies done on the vaccine.

"What they found it was about 70% efficacious, meaning it worked about 73% of the time," said Steven Rich, a professor of microbiology at UMass Amherst who has been studying ticks for decades. "They want to know what the worst-case scenario is, or the bottom level, and usually for the bottom you want at least 20% [efficacy]. They found the bottom was 15%."

He says that the number is below that typical 20% benchmark for approval. He says that's because not enough people got Lyme disease in the study, which could be a result attributed to not enough people being tested, or smart test subjects. Neither would necessarily show that the vaccine isn't effective.

"They went to the places where people get bit by lots of ticks, so they went to Cape Cod and the Islands, and they incorporated people there. Lots of ticks, lots of tick bites, lots of Lyme disease, but also those folks have been most acutely aware of ticks for years and years, so they probably have a little bit better practices than people in other parts of the country," Rich said.

He believes the vaccine will get approved despite the study, saying the current health administration is pushing for answers to the disease. A vaccine went to market in the late 1990s but failed.

"For one reason or another, the company, arguably they said because of sales, took it off the market," said Rich.

The demand now is high, with New England a hot bed of tick activity. Rich says the region is growing in both the number of ticks and tick species. Some of the new ticks moving toward the area also carry new illnesses. Rich and his researchers fear the public may see a vaccine as a tick cure all.

"If you get rid of Lyme disease, you won't get rid of ticks and you won't get rid of all of the other things that ticks cause," warns Rich.

New Englanders will still have to stay vigilant.