“I am very disappointed that the Congress went on recess before actually agreeing on what they would do to put the resources into this fight”, Clinton said.
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Texas, the second largest state in the nation, has reported 97 cases of Zika virus disease, including the two infants with microcephaly from the Harris County. “And that’s really why I’m here”, Clinton said.
Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Sen.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has signaled he is in no rush to return.
Congressional Democrats have publicly chastised Republicans on Zika as the available funding for agencies steadily shrinks; they accuse GOP members of turning a public-health issue into a political one. “Kaine and others to end that filibuster and pass the bill, but it doesn’t sound like they’re prepared to do that”, he said.
In June, the House approved a $1.1 billion anti-Zika aid bill that specified it would not fund Planned Parenthood or other abortion providers. Federal officials last week warned pregnant women to avoid the Miami neighborhood and a 1-square-mile area around it.
In the past two weeks, 21 cases in South Florida have been linked to the bite of local infected mosquitoes.
Texas health officials on Tuesday announced the first Zika-related newborn death in the state.
Americans have been anxiously anticipating migration of the Zika virus with athletes and fans returning from the Olympics in Brazil. The man is believed to have been infected with the virus while traveling overseas, although health officials have not specified where.
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton visited a medical clinic in Wynwood Tuesday, where she pushed for emergency funding in the Zika fight.
Congress left for their summer recess last month without passing funding for fighting Zika, a fact that Democrats have used to blast vulnerable Republicans on the campaign trail this summer.
Seven women have lost pregnancies due to Zika, and these numbers could grow. But the pregnant Miami woman-who the Journal refers to as patient Miami-Dade #1 and is reportedly in her early 20s-doesn’t have a clear connection to the small area, which has been dubbed a “warning zone”. “Because Washington can not keep ignoring the needs of the families of Florida”.
Brazil, where the Zika virus appeared a year ago, has confirmed more than 1,500 cases of microcephaly related to the Zika virus since October 2015.
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Zika is especially unsafe to pregnant women because it can cause serious birth defects such as microcephaly.
