Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Congress Needs To Fund Zika Battle, Most Americans Say
NPR: Poll: Most Americans Want Congress To Make Zika Funding A High Priority
Summer is winding down, but when members of Congress return to Washington from their vacations next week, many of their constituents want them to do something about the mosquitoes — the ones carrying Zika virus, to be specific. A new survey shows that three quarters of Americans say Congress should make the allocation of more money to deal with the Zika outbreaks in Florida and Puerto Rico an "important" or "top priority" when they return to Washington. (Kodjak, 9/1)
Morning Consult: House GOP Leaders Unveil September Agenda
House Republican leaders next month will seek a short-term spending patch to keep the government running in the fall, in addition to finding a way forward on Zika funding and other priorities outlined in a memo sent Wednesday to the GOP conference. “Once we return, Conference discussions will continue on overall government funding, including a Continuing Resolution and a path forward for the $1.1 billion supplemental funding package to address the Zika crisis that the House passed on June 23, 2016,” House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in the memo. ... The memo said there could also be action on the annual defense authorization, “reauthorization of career and technical education programs, and protecting seniors from a harmful Obamacare tax.” (Reid, 8/31)
In other Zika news —
The New York Times: Study Finds Increase In Temporary Paralysis Accompanied Zika Outbreaks
In seven countries that recently experienced Zika outbreaks, there were also sharp increases in the numbers of people suffering from a form of temporary paralysis, researchers reported Wednesday. The analysis, published online in The New England Journal of Medicine, adds to substantial evidence that Zika infections — even asymptomatic ones — may bring on a paralysis called Guillain-Barré syndrome. (Saint Louis, 8/31)
Stat: Zika Hits Singapore, Raising Fears Of Epidemics In Asia, Africa
The Zika virus appears to be spreading rapidly in Singapore, with 115 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, according to government officials. At least one pregnant woman is among them. The virus’s emergence in the Asian city-state is raising lots of questions that will likely preoccupy experts on the World Health Organization’s Zika Emergency Committee, which meets Thursday. The most pressing: Is this a sign the epidemic virus racing through the Americas will do the same in Asia and Africa? (Branswell, 9/1)
Health News Florida: Officials Investigating 3 New Local Zika Cases In Miami-Dade
The Florida Department of Health reported three new, non-travel related cases of Zika in Miami-Dade County on Tuesday. One of the cases is reportedly associated with the Miami Beach investigation, but the other two are being investigated to determine where the exposure happened. There have now been 46 non-travel-related cases of Zika reported in Florida. (8/31)
