Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Another Local Infection Of Zika Reported In Palm Beach County
Officials say a second person in Palm Beach County, Florida, has contracted the Zika virus through a local mosquito. Florida's Department of Health said in a statement Wednesday that a 24-year-old Lake Worth woman has been confirmed to have contracted the virus. (8/25)
Florida officials announced a new locally transmitted Zika case Wednesday—this time in Palm Beach County. It’s the second case stemming from local mosquitos in the county, but officials say the two cases aren’t connected.During an interview on Fox News, Governor Rick Scott attempted to put the state’s Zika cases in context. (McCarthy, 8/25)
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) is headed back to D.C. next month amid an escalating battle with the federal government over its lack of response to the spread of the Zika virus in Florida.Scott said Thursday that he will arrive at the Capitol on Sept. 6, the first day lawmakers return from their seven-week summer break. (Ferris, 8/25)
In Little Haiti, Liberty City, and a number of other neighborhoods in Miami, canvassers are now walking door to door to spread the word about the risks of Zika, one household at a time — hoping to reach 25, 000 people the next six weeks. In some neighborhoods, these workers aren't sponsored by federal or state health agencies, but by Planned Parenthood. (Allen, 8/26)
The U.N. health agency says reports from national authorities indicate no confirmed laboratory cases of the Zika virus in anyone associated with the Rio Olympics. The World Health Organization announced the findings Thursday in its weekly situation report on Zika. (8/25)
No one appears to have caught Zika at the Olympics, the World Health Organization said Thursday. WHO and other experts predicted the Olympics would not be a big source of Zika spread to the rest of the world. August is winter in Rio de Janeiro, and the Zika-bearing mosquitoes are less active then. Nonetheless, several athletes withdrew from the games, citing Zika worries. In its latest update on Zika, WHO said so far there had been no cases although cases could still be reported. (Fox, 8/25)
