The Senate voted Tuesday to advance $1.1 billion in emergency financing to combat the mosquito-borne Zika virus – less than the $1.9 billion requested by the White House and setting up a confrontation with House Republicans who have put forward a plan with just $622 million reallocated from other programs.
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Senators will have the opportunity to vote on three funding options, including a popular bipartisan compromise that would provide $1.1 billion, as amendments to a broader spending bill that is expected to pass later this week.
Dr Nedret Emiroglu, director of the Communicable Diseases and Health Security Division of the WHO’s Regional Office for Europe, said: “We stand ready to support European countries on the ground in case of Zika virus outbreaks”.
Republican House leaders introduced legislation Monday that would provide $622 million to combat Zika – about $1.3 billion less than federal health officials say they need.
“So this really is an emergency and public health experts have repeatedly made it clear that as we get closer to summer and mosquito season we cannot afford to delay”, says Senator Murray.
President Barack Obama’s top aides advised him to veto a pending House of Representatives bill that would provide even less money. “Certainly prevention of these horrific birth defects and the threat of the Zika virus spreading to the continental US and its impact on our population is more important than these”. “We should be funding the president’s full emergency request to stamp out this disease – and we should have done it months ago – but I’m glad that we finally took the first step to confront this health crisis”, Murphy said.
However, world health leaders are most concerned about the effect the virus will have on pregnant women as the virus has a awful impact on babies developing in the womb.
The House is set to vote on the Zika Bill on Wednesday, which is reported to gain most of the votes from the Republicans. He says the most common mosquito-borne illness identified in IN is West Nile virus. It is relatively close to what the White House has asked for, except it does not pay back very much of the already-tapped Ebola money or give Puerto Rico, a Zika hot spot, help with its Medicaid program. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky.
The Zika virus, which has mainly affected areas of central and South America, may spread to Europe this summer, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned.
For pregnant women, Zika can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects, as well as eye problems, hearing deficits and impaired growth.
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Top Republicans such as Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers of Kentucky have successfully pressured the administration to unspent Ebola funds to finance nearly $600 million in anti-Zika efforts such as research on the virus and Zika-related birth defects, response teams to limit Zika’s spread, and helping other countries fight the virus.
