Congress Must Approve Adequate Funding to Combat Zika

Confirmed cases of local transmission in Florida—and state-to-state transmission within the U.S.— highlight what we’ve been saying for months: Congress must approve adequate funding to combat the Zika virus. Though it is not likely to progress into a major public health threat, we must stop the disease in its tracks. For areas in the U.S. already impacted by the virus, their local economies and the health of their citizens depends on it.

On June 9, the U.S. Travel Association and the American Hotel and Lodging Association sent a joint letter to members of Congress, urging members to provide the necessary funding to combat the increased threat of Zika. Hundreds of hotels, state tourism offices and other travel organizations signed on to the letter, which implored Congress to help prevent a major public health crisis with repercussions for all Americans, let alone the travel industry.

Early in July, both chambers were close to reaching an agreement that would have provided adequate funding for research and development of vaccines, as well as advanced approaches to mosquito control. Regrettably, though, these efforts were stalled, and Congress adjourned for summer recess leaving Zika funding in limbo.

Meanwhile, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of reported Zika infections in the continental U.S. has more than doubled in the past six weeks, from 935 as of June 29 to nearly 2,000 (and from 2,026 to more than 6,000 in U.S. territories). Local transmission in the U.S. is currently limited to the Wynwood neighborhood of Miami, and a small area of Miami Beach, with isolated cases elsewhere in the state (for perspective, non-travel related cases of Zika have occurred in two square miles of a state that covers more than 65,000). However, the appearance of these cases in the first place has already prompted unprecedented travel advisories from the CDC warning pregnant women to avoid these areas—and compounded multiple existing U.S. travel warnings issued by other countries. While all reports indicate that officials in Florida are on the case, they—and local health departments around the country—can’t continue to do their job without additional approved funding.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services warns that existing Zika funds will run out by the end of September—and if that happens, it will likely halt trials of a Zika vaccine, impede disease vector research and hamper mosquito spraying and other existing prevention efforts. This is unacceptable. The U.S. government must demonstrate to the world that they take the problem of Zika seriously, and are taking all necessary steps to address it. We implore Congress to approve adequate Zika funding as its first course of action when it reconvenes on September 6th.