$81 million allocated to combat Zika virus

The Obama administration plans to reallocate $81 million from the Department of Health and Human Services to fight the Zika virus, according to a letter sent Thursday by HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell.

Burwell notified congressional leaders that she will transfer $34 million away from other programs at the National Institutes of Health and $47 million within the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority budget. The money will supplement the $347 million HHS transferred away from an existing fund to fight the Ebola virus. The administration is seeking $1.9 billion to fight Zika, but Congress is deadlocked over the funding.