Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
WHO: There's No Public Health Justification For Adjusting Olympics Timing, Location
The World Health Organization on Saturday rejected a call from 150 health experts to consider postponing or moving the Rio Summer Olympics due to the Zika virus in hard-hit Brazil, arguing that the shift would make no significant difference to the spread of the virus. The U.N. health agency, which declared the spread of Zika in the Americas a global emergency in February, said in a statement there is 鈥渘o public health justification鈥 for postponing or canceling the 2016 games, which run from Aug. 5-21. (Moulson, 5/28)
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday rejected a call from health experts to move the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer because of Zika virus. (Kroet, 5/28)
Congress abandoned the Capitol Thursday for an almost two-week break without addressing how to combat Zika, even as public health officials issue dire warnings about the spread of the mosquito-driven virus with summer approaching. Republican leaders insist that a deal can be struck soon to provide the money federal health officials say is needed to develop a vaccine. They also played down the risk of waiting a little longer, arguing existing money is available for the initial steps needed to help contain the virus while lawmakers resolve the larger funding fight. (Kane and DeBonis, 5/27)
Health departments in all 50 states are scrambling to make up for the combined $45 million they will lose this summer if Congress fails to address a massive federal funding shortfall fighting the Zika virus. With Congress locked in a billion-dollar stalemate over Zika funding, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be forced to eliminate emergency public health funding from as many as 62 health districts starting in July. (Ferris, 5/29)
At a clinic in Harlem where many of the patients have roots in the Dominican Republic, Dr. Juan Tapia-Mendoza talks to patients about the Zika virus daily. He asks if they are planning to visit the island this summer. He reminds them that the virus can be transmitted through sex. In New York City, there have been 109 reported cases of Zika, including 17 women who were pregnant when they learned they had the virus, according to city health officials. They all contracted the virus while visiting other countries. (Fitzsimmons, 5/30)
In other Zika news, the virus is bringing attention to聽Guillain-Barr茅 syndrome, the聽director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health warns about an outbreak in Florida and Wisconsin gets its second confirmed case 鈥
Polly Carver-Kimm has painful insight into her message these days as spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health. Carver-Kimm is helping warn people about the Zika virus, which mosquitoes are spreading through the Caribbean, South America and could become a threat in the Southern United States. The possible complications include Guillain-Barr茅 syndrome, which attacks nerve cells, causing muscle weakness, tingling and even paralysis. Carver-Kimm hasn't contracted the Zika virus, but she has struggled with an illness related to Guillain-Barr茅 syndrome since 2012, when it knocked her flat. (Powers, 5/29)
Federal officials are all but certain there will be a Zika outbreak in the continental U.S. this summer. The mosquito-borne virus continues to spread in Central and South America and the Caribbean. It鈥檚 linked to severe birth defects and other serious side effects. (Mack, 5/30)
A Dane County woman has a confirmed case of Zika virus infection, health officials said Friday. (Stephenson, 5/27)
