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Senate advances $1.1 billion in Zika funding; IDSA, CDC express concerns

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The Senate voted 68-29 to advance $1.1 billion in emergency funding for Zika response efforts, which is less than President Barack Obama’s $1.9 billion request, but nearly double the $622.1 million approved by the House of Representatives in a 241-184 vote, according to press releases.

Patty Murray

Obama has stated he will veto the House bill, if it is sent to his desk, for falling well short of the amount of funding the White House has said is necessary to effectively combat the Zika virus.

The $1.1 billion deal was first introduced on May 12 by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

“Women and families are looking to Congress to fight back against the Zika virus, so I’m glad that the Senate has finally taken action to get a bipartisan down payment on the President’s emergency funding proposal into the hands of first responders and researchers as soon as possible,” Murray said in a press release.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., however, expressed concern over the Senate’s $1.1 billion bill and the House’s $622.1 million bill, which would use resources allocated for the Ebola response, saying it is not enough to respond to the epidemic. Within the United States, Florida currently has the most reported cases of Zika virus infection among all states with 112. On the day of the Senate vote, Rubio pushed for an amendment funding Obama’s full request, although it did not pass.

Marco Rubio

“Let’s not play with fire here,” Rubio said during his Senate floor speech. “[There are] many unborn children who are at risk and many more who will be impacted once mosquito season really sets in. At the end of the day, these are the people we should be fighting for, and we can quite frankly do much better than what the House is proposing.”

Rubio warned that, although Ebola is no longer in the news, the virus still exists and could become an issue again in the future. Prior to the vote, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said during a briefing that Ebola funds are still being used by the CDC in Guinea and Liberia to investigate nearly 1,000 Ebola contacts who are at risk for potentially spreading the disease.

“The lesson we should have learned from 2014 is that the United States and the American people benefit from enhanced capacity of public health officials in other countries, that stopping the spread of a dangerous virus in another country makes the American people safer,” he said.

A statement released from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) urged Congress to pass an adequate amount of funds that can be used to develop vaccines, rapid diagnostic tests and therapeutic agents for Zika virus without using other health funding.

“We are disappointed that the U.S. House of Representatives intends to advance a package that would provide roughly half of the funding in the bipartisan Senate bill, and we are alarmed at the lack of foresight that would divert funding from other important public health and biomedical research priorities,” the statement said. “As infectious diseases physicians, IDSA members are on the front lines preparing for and responding to all outbreaks, and have seen firsthand the necessity of a strong public health infrastructure, biomedical research enterprise, and infectious diseases workforce to address all current and future threats.”

Stephen C. Redd, MD, director of the CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, recently said in a press release that the funds available through the CDC for dissemination are insufficient and causing delays in U.S. states and territories’ response against Zika. According to the release, more than $85 million in redirected funds identified by the Department of Health and Human Services is available to support efforts against Zika in the U.S.

Stephen C. Redd

“These funds will allow states and territories to continue implementation of their Zika preparedness plans, but are not enough to support a comprehensive Zika response and can only temporarily address what is needed,” Redd said in the release. “Without the full amount of the requested emergency supplemental funding, many activities that need to start are now being delayed or may have to be stopped within months.”

According to the CDC, $25 million in fiscal year 2016 will be distributed to 53 states, cities and territories at risk for Zika outbreaks. The funds can be used to investigate possible outbreaks, coordinate response efforts with government and nongovernment partners, and connect families affected by the disease to community services. The deadline for submitting applications to the CDC for the funds, which will be disbursed this summer, is June 13.

In addition, the CDC reported that $60 million is available for states and cities currently participating in the Epidemiology and Lab Capacity program to enhance laboratory capacity, epidemiological surveillance and mosquito control, as well as to maintain safe blood supplies and contribute to the U.S. Zika Pregnancy registry. The deadline to submit applications for these funds is May 27. ­– by Stephanie Viguers

Disclosure: Redd reports no relevant financial disclosures. Infectious Disease News was unable to confirm other relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.