It seems like we’re living through a bizarre medical mystery, but not the kind you’d expect. Forget Sherlock Holmes and his magnifying glass; this one involves phantom tick boxes, social media conspiracy theories, and a looming pharmaceutical breakthrough. At the heart of it all is Lyme disease, a truly debilitating illness that has, unfortunately, become a fertile ground for misinformation. It all kicked off with a peculiar plea from an organization called the MAHA Mom Coalition. They put out an unusual call, looking for farmers who’d supposedly been finding mysterious boxes of ticks in their fields. The catch? These farmers, and their peculiar “tick presents,” seem to be entirely fictional.
The MAHA Mom Coalition’s Instagram post, asking, “Can anybody reading this right now validate this? We’d love to connect with and speak to these farmers!!” reads like a desperate search for evidence that simply doesn’t exist. So, why the sudden interest in non-existent tick boxes? Well, a conspiracist on Twitter helpfully offered an explanation, raking in over a million views for their theory: “with a potential new ‘Lyme disease vaccine coming out next year,’ they ‘fear our government is going to release plague like levels of ticks upon us in order to incentivize the masses into getting another vaccine.'” It’s a classic fear-mongering tactic – connect a known anxiety (vaccines and government control) with a manufactured crisis (tick-borne plagues). The original rumblings of this tick-box narrative, according to the fact-checking site Snopes, came from an Iowa woman named Sarah Outlaw. Her Instagram video, posted on March 30, has been watched over 10 million times, where she claimed, “Something is happening with ticks right now, and farmers are starting to talk… Reports of boxes of ticks being found. Reports of ticks being seen in ways that feel out of the ordinary.” She went on to link this uptick in tick sightings to a real increase in Lyme cases and other tick-borne illnesses like alpha-gal, an allergic reaction to red meat.
However, Outlaw’s viral claims are notably devoid of any actual proof. When pressed for evidence, she vaguely referred to hearing these stories at a private seminar from someone in a “rural Missouri community.” Snopes, diligently pursuing the facts, reached out to hundreds of public health officials in Missouri, only to find not a single person who could corroborate seeing even one of these mythical tick boxes. Outlaw, when contacted by Snopes, predictably “declined to provide us contact information for any involved parties, citing their privacy.” And to Mother Jones, she simply didn’t respond. Despite the complete lack of evidence, Outlaw’s thinly veiled insinuation — that nebulous forces are distributing ticks to inflict Lyme disease on us all — continued to spread like wildfire. It wasn’t long before social media users, fueled by a potent blend of suspicion and algorithms, began to connect Outlaw’s claims to a new Lyme disease vaccine under development by Pfizer and Valneva. This vaccine, despite a hiccup in its late-stage clinical trial (which the drugmakers attributed to a recent decrease in Lyme cases, ironically), is still slated for a potential release in 2027, with the companies touting its “strong efficacy” in reducing Lyme cases by 70 percent. This timing, for conspiracy theorists, was just too perfect to be a coincidence.
One of the primary amplifiers of these rumors was David Avocado Wolfe, a well-known wellness and conspiracy influencer. He quickly re-shared Outlaw’s video on Telegram, peppering his posts with unsubstantiated advice on fighting ticks. He also shared another video, featuring a woman staring blankly into the camera, with text overlayed that chillingly declared, “Pfizer’s dropping a new Lyme vaccine next year… And magically, this spring and summer are going to be the worst tick season ever. You’ve seen this playbook.” Throughout April, X (formerly Twitter) was awash with posts making claims about these phantom tick boxes or casting suspicion on the upcoming vaccine, using sensational language like “SHOCKING TIMING EXPOSED” and “feds bioengineering ticks to poison us with Lyme disease.” It’s a familiar pattern, echoing the fate of a previous Lyme disease vaccine, LYMErix, which was pulled off the market in 2002. LYMErix’s demise was a cocktail of factors: suspicions from patient groups about adverse effects (which were never conclusively proven), a lukewarm recommendation from the CDC that didn’t adequately shield it from liability, and ultimately, a barrage of lawsuits that made it financially unsustainable for GlaxoSmithKline, its maker. Since then, there hasn’t been a human Lyme vaccine.
In the years since LYMErix’s withdrawal, Lyme cases have only continued to climb, driven by factors like climate change and increased human-wildlife interaction that bring us closer to ticks carrying the disease-causing bacteria. Even alpha-gal, the tick-borne allergy to red meat, is on the rise, with a tragic first reported death in November 2025. Given the frightening and often debilitating nature of Lyme disease, it’s no surprise that conspiracy theories about it reliably capture public attention. In 2024, Tucker Carlson, a prominent media personality, aired a program claiming that “government bioweapons labs” were “injecting ticks with exotic illnesses” in the 1960s, leading to the widespread Lyme disease we see today. This particular broadcast garnered nearly 8 million views on X alone. Politifact, in response, quickly debunked these claims, pointing out that the Lyme disease bacterium has existed for roughly 60,000 years and would make an incredibly ineffective bioweapon due to its slow spread and low fatality rate. Even high-profile figures have jumped on the conspiracy bandwagon. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, stated as recently as January 2024 that he believes Lyme disease likely originated from a “military bioweapon.” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary echoed a similar sentiment on a podcast in November. Both men have suggested the disease came from federal research facilities on Plum Island, New York. This idea gained traction with Kris Newby’s 2019 book, though the Washington Post swiftly debunked some of its central claims, including the misidentification of a key source as a bioweapons researcher. An epidemiologist reviewing the book criticized it for “hysteria and fear-mongering” and for doing “little to help those afflicted by the disease it preys upon.”
The persistent shadow of these bioweapons claims continues to influence political discourse. This year, after at least two previous attempts, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), co-chair of the Congressional Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Caucus, successfully included a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act. This provision directs the Government Accountability Office to “investigate whether the U.S. military weaponized ticks with Lyme disease.” With suspicion swirling around Lyme disease from all corners – from high-ranking political figures and the halls of Congress to natural health influencers and back again – it’s a very real possibility that Pfizer and Valneva’s promising new vaccine could be “doomed to death by distrust” even before it reaches the market. Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who was part of the CDC’s Advisory Council on Immunization Practice when LYMErix was being considered, laments that we “live in a time where conspiracy sells.” He recalls that LYMErix, despite being “about 75% effective,” was ultimately “damned by a soft recommendation” from the ACIP, which merely suggested it “should be considered” for those in tick-endemic areas. Offit had advocated for a broader recommendation, one that would have ensured the vaccine was covered by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. While patient reports of autoimmune issues were never definitively proven to be linked to LYMErix, the vaccine was pulled from the market after only three years. Offit explains that its manufacturer “tried to defend the vaccine until it was too expensive” to continue facing the “slings and arrows of outrageous litigation.”
In the years following LYMErix’s withdrawal, Offit notes the emergence of both “vigorous patient advocacy” and a “whole paramedical community” that has coalesced around Lyme disease and what’s often referred to as “chronic Lyme disease.” This is where individuals believe they have a long-term active infection, despite the medical community generally not recognizing chronic Lyme as a distinct diagnosis. While persistent effects from Lyme disease, known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, do exist, the concept of chronic Lyme as an ongoing active infection remains controversial. Offit believes more research is necessary to fully demonstrate the new Lyme vaccine’s potential, but he expresses significant concern about the highly skeptical environment into which it would be released. The suspicion currently bubbling up around this unreleased vaccine, Offit observes, eerily mirrors the controversies surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. “MRNA Covid vaccines have suffered from these conspiracies” concerning both the virus’s origins and alleged safety issues, he states. “It was very easy to get that bad information out there. So we suffer.”
Sarah Outlaw, the herbalist, holistic doctor, and nutritionist who sparked the viral tick-box claims, notably ended her video by encouraging viewers to reach out for help: “Comment TICKS and I will send you what we do in our practice to support and protect naturally.” Those who responded received a “tick exposure and prevention guide” via direct message, which prominently featured a supplement brand called Cellcore. This detail was brought to light by Mallory de Mille, a correspondent for the Conspirituality podcast, who frequently investigates wellness scams and health misinformation on social media. Outlaw presents herself as a “Board-Certified Doctor of Holistic Health” and lists credentials such as a master’s degree in applied clinical nutrition from the New York Chiropractic College and a health coaching certification from the Biblical Health Institute. However, it’s crucial to note that she is not a physician. Her “doctor’s degree,” as she labels it on LinkedIn, comes from Quantum University, a holistic medicine school whose two-year doctorate program lacks accreditation from the U.S. Department of Education. Quantum’s website itself includes a disclaimer clarifying that its degrees “are NOT equivalent or comparable to” an MD or a “Doctor in Naturopathy Degree (ND),” and they do not “entitle graduates to any state, provincial, or federal licensure.”
Laurel Bristow, an infectious disease researcher and host of the Health Wanted podcast (produced by Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health), emphasizes the profound impact Lyme disease has on people’s lives. She points out how health influencers hawking baseless products only exacerbate the problem. “There’s no evidence that anything they’re selling will reduce your risk of acquiring Lyme disease from a tick bite,” Bristow asserts. Like Dr. Offit, Bristow advocates for more research on the new vaccine before making definitive judgments. However, she also shares Offit’s concern about the “pernicious” conspiracy theories that have already taken root, urging caution: “We don’t want to cast aspersions on a vaccine before we really know what’s happening.” Even if the new Lyme vaccine eventually gains FDA approval, Bristow highlights another critical hurdle: the absence of a clear “mechanism to review who should be recommended for it.” This crucial step, which dictates whether a vaccine is covered by insurance and federal injury compensation programs, falls under the purview of ACIP. However, ACIP is currently embroiled in a legal battle as RFK Jr. attempts to unilaterally restructure and fill it with individuals who harbor anti-vaccine sentiments. Bristow remains hopeful that with time and increased transparency regarding the new vaccine, public trust can be cultivated before it hits the market. “It won’t be available to work for this tick season,” she notes. “So hopefully in the intervening time we can have a little more data and feel a little more confident, and by the next tick season we’ll have a good option.” Dr. Paul Offit, however, is significantly less optimistic about what the coming months hold. As he frankly states, we “live in a time where conspiracy sells.” With a palpable sigh of exhaustion, he adds, “I’m not sure what gets us through this. We’re at a time now—and RFK Jr. is a ringleader of this as a major conspiracy theorist—where people create their own truths, including scientific truths.” It’s a sobering thought, highlighting the immense challenge of navigating a public square where facts are often overshadowed by misinformation and manufactured narratives.