WASHINGTON — President Obama will request more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding from Congress to fight the Zika virus , which has ...
WASHINGTON — President Obama will request more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding from Congress to fight the Zika virus, which has spread to 26 countries and territories in the Western Hemisphere, though not to the United States.
The
money would go toward expanding programs that control mosquitoes, which
transmit the virus, as well as research into vaccines and new public
education programs, particularly for pregnant women, the president said in an interview Monday on “CBS This Morning.”
Mr.
Obama’s request comes as the White House is trying to strike a balance
between being responsive to the virus and not provoking alarm. Two years
ago, the administration initially played down the risk that the Ebola
virus would spread to the United States, only to reverse course after
cases were diagnosed here.
Mr. Obama, angered by his administration’s slow response, appointed a special coordinator to handle the Ebola outbreak.
“The
good news is this is not like Ebola — people don’t die of Zika, a lot
of people get it and don’t even know that they have it,” Mr. Obama said
in the interview with Gayle King. “What we now know, though, is that
there appears to be some significant risk for pregnant women or women
who are thinking about getting pregnant.”
Dr.
Anne Schuchat, the deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, said at a briefing on Monday afternoon that the virus is
expected to come to the United States through travelers, but added, “We
don’t expect large-scale outbreaks. We aren’t expecting a large-scale
amount of Zika infections.”
Dr.
Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, said at the briefing that the United States had
prevented the outbreak of similar viruses, like dengue, which is
widespread in Latin America, by curbing the transmission by mosquitoes.
“Historically, we have faced this before,” he said.
While
both officials repeated that pregnant women should consider deferring
plans to visit areas affected by Zika, they stopped short of
recommending that they should cancel travel altogether.
“We know this is a very scary time for pregnant women,” Dr. Schuchat said.
A
vaccine against Zika may take some time, the officials said.
First-phase clinical trials are likely to begin during the summer, they
said, with more advanced trials next year. But a widely-available and
effective vaccine may not be available for several years.
Dr.
Fauci drew a sharp distinction between the response to Ebola and to
Zika. Ebola had spread for weeks in Africa before the world health
community become alarmed. “We have responded very, very rapidly to
this,” he said. “This is something we’re very much on top of.”
During
his interview, Mr. Obama reiterated the need not to panic. But, he
said, “We are going to be putting up a legislative proposal to Congress
to resource both the research on vaccines and diagnostics but also
helping in terms of public health systems.
“This is not something where people are going to die from it,” he said. “It is something we have to take seriously.”
The White House called on Congress to swiftly approve the emergency funding request.
“We
are hopeful that Congress will recognize the urgency of this request
and will act on it,” said Josh Earnest, the press secretary. “This falls
into the category of things that shouldn’t break down on party lines.”
The
virus has generated mounting concern in Congress. On Friday, Senate
Democrats wrote to Mr. Obama, urging him to develop a national strategy
for combating Zika that would include multiple agencies, from the
Department of Health and Human Services to the United States Agency for
International Development.
“We
believe that a well-coordinated interagency response plan, coupled with
strong investments in our research and response programs, is critical
to addressing the Zika virus,” the senators wrote.
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