Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Finding Donations To Fight Zika Is Proving Difficult
Health officials trying to raise money to respond to the Zika outbreak say that their appeals are largely falling flat — and that the effort is shaping up as one of the most challenging hat-passing exercises they have ever seen. (Branswell, 6/7)
Texas' top Senate Republicans on Monday upped the urgency on federal policymakers to do something about the Zika virus. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Sens. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, and Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, penned a letter to the state's congressional delegation and the Obama administration, saying Texas desperately needs federal funding to combat the Zika virus after recent floods. (Walters, 6/6)
Iowans should not be concerned about local transmission of the Zika virus. Deputy State Epidemiologist Dr. Ann Garvey said Monday morning there is no indication that the types of mosquitoes spreading Zika are established in Iowa. (Boden, 6/6)
MPR News reporter Euan Kerr asks what we know about the virus, its vectors and what the public health response will look like at the Olympics and in the US. He spoke with Paul Roepe, co-director of the Georgetown Center for Infectious Disease and Kristy Murray, associate professor of pediatrics - tropical medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. (6/6)
Local mosquito experts are going to tell you how, and they're going to tell you how to protect yourself. They're going to tell you which blood-sucking skeeters are the worst house guests, and what, exactly, that squirt of poison could be. (West Nile? Zika?) By the end of this story, it's possible you'll know a little too much about mosquitoes. (Kurtzman, 6/7)
Public health officials are working to contain Franklin County's first known Zika case after a Columbus woman tested positive for the virus after a trip to the Dominican Republic. (Kurtzman, 6/6)
