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JIM Jaquess

Beach Crab
Sep 27, 2016
3
0
Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Congress finally passed a measure jam-packed full of funding to fight the Zika virus last month, but Zika is still spreading in Florida and state officials say they haven't seen a dime of the money to fight the virus.

Late Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott announced local transmission had begun occurring in another part of Miami-Dade County. Five people -- two women and three men -- have become infected in the new one-mile radius.

Florida's Zika situation seemed on the up and up last month when Congress finally passed a resolution to provide $1.1 billion in funding to prevent and fight the virus.

Yet despite the apparent legislative solution, the governor says times are still dire for Florida, which hasn't received any money from the $1.1 billion package.

"It has been two weeks since federal funding to fight Zika was approved by Congress and signed by President Obama," Scott said. "However, Florida has not yet received a dime. We don’t need bureaucratic timelines – we need funding now."

Florida has been one of the states most significantly impacted by the Zika virus, primarily due to its climate and proximity to the Caribbean. Over 1,000 cases of Zika have been documented in Florida, where local transmission began occurring this summer.

Congress could not agree on a solution for months, with Democrats and Republicans disagreeing over provisions on Planned Parenthood being part of the package.

Legislative inaction over the funding prompted Gov. Rick Scott to funnel more than $61 million in state funds to help fight off the virus and to equip Florida counties with the supplies necessary to prevent Zika from spreading.

Pest control companies and Miami Dade County officials have been working overtime to combat the virus in the Miami area. The virus initially began spreading in Wynwood, but later expanded into the Miami Beach area.

Scott has requested several items from the CDC to help combat the Zika virus, including a matched $25 million to help research a vaccine for the virus.

Scott's list of requests has been lengthy and includes demands for an additional 10,000 Zika testing kits, a request that has gone unfulfilled since August.

The CDC has been working with Florida to help combat the virus, providing more than $8 million in funding as well as an additional $27 million in emergency funds which Florida can use to fight the virus. Next week, the CDC will give Florida $2.6 million in Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) funds which are part of a larger amount ($44 million) set aside for Florida as part of Congress' Zika package.

The CDC is still advising caution to pregnant women traveling to the affected areas in Miami-Dade County.

This month there are nearly 4,000 cases of Zika in the continental U.S.

By

Allison Nielsen

October 14, 2016 - 9:45am

Sunshine State News
 
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