Imagine the frustration of many public health experts when the Congress went on summer recess without approving the allocation of funds for Zika virus response. It appeared that it's not only the politicians who are not significantly concerned as a recent survey revealed that 77 percent of Americans don't care about the emerging public health crisis across the nation.
Today, Zika virus is considered as a global public health threat while Zika prevention is "a matter of national security." That's why, several publications have run headlines urging the U.S. Congress to stop playing politics and act on the bill for emergency funding to fight the spread of Zika virus across the country, instead of stalling.
In the United States, thousands of Zika virus cases have already been documented, including the local mosquito transmission in Miami and the Zika-related microcephalic infants found in New York to California, Time reported. Due to these incidents, public health experts feared a widespread transmission may become a reality.
Due to the Congress refusal to approve President Barack Obama's proposal of $1.9 billion for the Zika virus response, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health have to redirect resources from other important public health priorities. The Congress' refusal continues despites the incessant pleading of the Head of State.
"Fighting Zika is no longer just a public health crisis," Time wrote. "Zika is a threat to national security just like other global diseases such as AIDS, SARS, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and MERS."
Moreover, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer also urged the Congress to legislate the Zika virus emergency funding bill. During the press conference on Aug. 7, Schumer told his fellow members that "the time to act is now."
"It has been more than 165 days since the President requested emergency funding to fight Zika, but Congress has yet to pass a bill and public health now hangs in the balance," Schumer said, The Journal Times quoted. "The time to act is now."
Florida Governor Rick Scott also added that in order to fight the public health threat of Zika virus, the President and the Congress need to "work together." Fortunately, President Obama took action on Aug. 11 by diverting the $81 million fund from biomedical research and antipoverty and healthcare programs to support the development of Zika vaccine.
Meanwhile, New York Daily News claimed the Congress is "sick" after it failed to approve the Zika response funding, making the United States at higher risk for an outbreak. In fact, mosquito transmission of Zika has already reached mainland Florida.
"Congressional gridlock leading into vacation time has reduced the United States to scrambling for the money needed to save lives and prevent birth defects," the publication wrote.
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