Overview
- HHS announced the actions Monday, saying it will invest millions to develop AI‑enabled tools meant to speed diagnosis, guide care and bolster research into Lyme and other tick‑borne diseases.
- The department said it worked with the LymeX community to help bring two improved, FDA‑cleared Lyme diagnostics to market to give clinicians better tools for earlier and more accurate diagnosis.
- LymeX Innovation Accelerator will continue running competitive challenges and has signaled planned awards of up to $2.5 million to spur new diagnostics and related innovations.
- Actor Dennis Quaid joined Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in an HHS video to raise awareness and related a reported personal account about Kris Kristofferson’s 2016 Lyme diagnosis that has not been independently verified in news coverage.
- Kennedy has framed the initiative around a policy goal to cut Lyme cases 25% by 2035 and cited NIH investments of about $50 million for Lyme research and $122 million for broader tick‑borne work as the funding backbone.