HHS to shift $81 million to fight Zika virus
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — 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.
Ms. 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.
“The failure to pass a Zika emergency supplemental has forced the Administration to choose between delaying critical vaccine development work and raiding other worthy government programs to temporarily avoid these delays,” Ms. Burwell wrote
Last week, Ms. Burwell informed Congress that those two agencies were expected to run out of money by the end of August to fight the spread of the mosquitoborne disease.
The administration reports that there have been more than 7,300 cases of Zika reported in the United States, including 972 pregnant women. Fifteen babies have been born with Zika-related birth defects.
Earlier this week, the death of a newborn in the Houston area was linked to the Zika virus. Texas health officials said the baby acquired the virus while in the womb.
That news came one week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced at least 15 Zika cases in Miami. The news prompted an unprecedented travel warning advising pregnant women and their partners to avoid the area of the city where the cases were identified. It was the first time such a warning was issued in continental U.S.
On Thursday, Florida’s caseload of Zika spread by Miami mosquitoes had risen to 25, and U.S. health officials continued to warn pregnant women to avoid the infection zone despite the governor’s assurances that the area of concern is shrinking.
On Thursday, Ms. Burwell said that the shifting of funds was a last-ditch effort. “With the actions described above, we have exhausted our ability to even provide short-term financing to help fight Zika,” she wrote.