Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Why Spending The Zika Money Isn't As Easy As It Seems
Florida鈥檚 Surgeon General wants to know how Miami-Dade County is spending state funds in combating the Zika virus. In a letter sent Wednesday to Miami-Dade officials, Dr. Celeste Phililp says the state has sent $12 million to the county to combat Zika and she wants to make sure the mosquito-control strategies have been effective. Philip requests a comprehensive report that details how effective efforts have been to kill mosquitoes that spread the virus. (Ochoa, 10/27)
The Zika virus spread through Brazil and other parts of South America, now it's聽in Puerto Rico and Florida. Congress took eight months to approve allocating $1.1 billion to help fight the outbreak. The head of the Centers for Disease Control asked for a pot of money to fight health emergencies just as FEMA has for natural disasters and terrorist attacks. But the situation聽is more complex than it seems. (Uhler, 10/27)
With Miami-Dade County continuing to be hit hard, Florida health officials said聽Wednesday聽the state has added 14 cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Nine of the additional cases involved the virus being transmitted in Miami-Dade, while four were "travel related," meaning people were infected elsewhere and brought the virus into the state. The Florida Department of Health said it has been unable to determine where exposure occurred in another new case because the person traveled to Miami and to an area out of state that has "widespread Zika transmission." (10/27)
