>because of public outcry that the vaccines "cause arthritis"
Well, that specific vaccine.
However, to your basic point, even though the specific vaccine in question (LYMErix) was "only" about 80% effective, the federal government should make it available through some mechanism for adults today given the increasing incidence of Lyme disease. (And should add it to the vaccines covered by liability protection.)
Re:What It's Like to Have Severe Lyme Disease
by wnoise on Tuesday June 16, 2015 @12:46AM
(#9723882)
Unfortunately, there's no "herd-immunity" externalized benefit, so the efficient way to allocate it is by individuals buying doses for themselves. (Well, for Homo economicus, rather than Homo sapiens.)
I'm fine with buying it (for a semi-reasonable price, i.e. not $10K) but no one makes an FDA-approved version and it's not clear how active the efforts are to get a LYMErix replacement approved. (There have been early-stage clinical trials but there don't seem to be aggressive efforts to move forward.) Presumably the canine versions would be safe enough but you can't just buy those on the open market and administer them.
“Lyme disease is the only infection I know of where we have a safe and effective vaccine, but it’s not available to the public,” says Dr. Allen Steere, the physician who uncovered the disease.
http://www.wbur.org/2012/06/27/lyme-vaccine