Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agency, has urged the Congress to back President Barack Obama’s $1.9 billion request in emergency funds for Zika virus response efforts.
Frieden wrote in a blog post published Monday the Department of Health and Human Services has repurposed funds to meet laboratory requirements, develop diagnostic tests and track infections in the U.S. and territories.
He said a so-called “stopgap” funding package is not sufficient to support the Zika mitigation measures that the U.S. needs.
Frieden noted Congress should follow the efforts of private sector leaders such as the anti-Zika campaign of the CDC Foundation — a non-profit organization that partners with private sector entities to aid CDC.
CDC Foundation partners have donated Zika prevention kits to Puerto Rico to aid pregnant women and supported health education missions in U.S. communities, Frieden said.
