Zika Highlights Reproductive Health Disparities: ‘This Is Not A Battle-Ready Infrastructure’
Family planning and reproductive health services have been cut across the country -- just as the nation braces for a virus that hits pregnant women the hardest. Meanwhile, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says Zika is not a valid reason to allow abortions and doctors are offering women in Puerto Rico free contraception.
Modern Healthcare:
Threat Of Zika Epidemic Puts Spotlight On Women's Health Issues
The looming threat posed by the Zika virus will reveal the vast inequalities faced by women seeking reproductive healthcare in poor and politically conservative areas, experts say. “This is not a battle-ready public health infrastructure,” said Clare Coleman, president and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. (Johnson, 8/5)
Politico Pro:
Rubio: No Abortions For Zika-Infected Women
Sen. Marco Rubio said Saturday that he doesn’t believe a pregnant woman infected with the Zika virus should have the right to an abortion — even if she had reason to believe the child would be born with severe microcephaly. ... "I understand a lot of people disagree with my view – but I believe that all human life is worthy of protection of our laws. And when you present it in the context of Zika or any prenatal condition, it’s a difficult question and a hard one," Rubio told POLITICO. "But if I’m going to err, I’m going to err on the side of life." (Caputo, 8/7)
NPR:
Puerto Rican OB-GYNs Offer Free Birth Control To Fight Zika
In Puerto Rico the local association of obstetricians and gynecologists has launched a new attack on Zika. Because Zika primarily is a problem for pregnant women, the doctors are trying to reduce the number of pregnant women by offering free contraception across the island to any woman who wants it. "We have had ... historical barriers to contraception in Puerto Rico for a long long time," says Dr. Nabal Bracero, the driving force behind the initiative and the head of the local chapter of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (Beaubien, 8/6)
In other news, the plan to use genetically modified mosquitoes to control the virus moves forward, and Florida's governor blasts Washington for funding delays —
Reuters:
U.S. Closer To Testing Engineered Mosquitoes That Could Fight Zika
U.S. health regulators have cleared the way for a trial of genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida that can reduce mosquito populations, potentially offering a new tool to fight the local spread of Zika and other viruses. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that a field trial testing Intrexon Corp's genetically engineered mosquitoes would not have a significant impact on the environment. The announcement came as Florida officials grapple with the first cases of local Zika transmission in the continental United States. (Steenhuysen, Grover and Stein, 8/5)
PBS NewsHour:
Feds Approve Controversial Plan To Release Genetically Modified Mosquitoes To Fight Zika
As the Zika virus continues its spread in Florida, federal officials on Friday approved a plan to release millions of mutant mosquitoes there in hopes of suppressing the disease-carrying insect’s population. The Food and Drug Administration has issued its final environmental assessment of the plan, saying that the proposed field trial in Key Haven, a suburb of Key West, “will not have significant impacts on the environment.” (Kelkar, 8/6)
Reuters:
Florida Governor Criticizes Washington For Lagging In Zika Fight
Florida Republican Governor Rick Scott on Sunday accused the federal government of lagging in providing assistance to combat the spread of the Zika virus in a Miami-area neighborhood, the site of the first U.S. transmission of the virus.Scott was speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" about the neighborhood of Wynwood, where crews began aerial spraying on Thursday to kill virus-carrying mosquitoes. Zika can cause microcephaly, a rare but devastating birth defect. (Skinner, 8/7)
Politico:
Zika Concern: Florida's Scott Responds To State Cuts For Mosquito Control
Republican Gov. Rick Scott on Sunday defended cutting some state funding in Florida to pay for mosquito control amid increasing cases of the Zika virus in his state. Under Scott, state aid to mosquito control programs was reduced 40 percent in 2011, from $2.16 million to $1.29 million. Scott also ignored pleas from fellow Republicans that year when he cut a special $500,000 appropriation for the Public Health Entomology Research and Education Lab in Panama City Beach, which was founded in 1964.Florida has documented 408 Zika infections as of Friday. (Temple-West, 8/7)
Meanwhile, media outlets report on developments from the states —
Reveal:
From A To Zika
Reporter Amy Walters continues her Zika journey to one other high-risk area: Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley, one of the poorest regions in the country. ... The community clinics are ill-equipped to handle this crisis, and they aren’t alone – Texas is short on doctors. According to one study, Texas needs 12,000 more physicians to meet our per-capita national average. And about half the state has no OB-GYNs. It’s an ominous report. And Zika hasn’t even arrived in Texas – yet. (Center For Investigative Reporting, 8/6)
The Associated Press:
Delaware Says Medicaid Now Covers Mosquito Repellent
Delaware officials say Medicaid recipients can now get benefit coverage for over-the-counter mosquito repellents. Officials say the move is intended to help protect against the Zika virus. Over-the-counter insect repellents generally are not covered by Medicaid. But the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently allowed states to cover mosquito repellents for Medicaid recipients when prescribed by an authorized health professional. (8/6)
WBUR:
Boston-Based Researchers Model The Future Of The Zika Epidemic
A new model based out of Northeastern University predicts that nearly 30,000 Zika virus infections have been imported into the United States as of June. The CDC reported only 1,657 travel associated cases.But don't panic — at least, not yet.That's the message from Northeastern University professor of computational sciences Alessandro Vespignani. He and an international team of scientists have built a model to understand how the Zika epidemic will respond in the future. (Michaels, 8/4)
The New Orleans Times-Picayune:
4 New Zika Cases Reported In Louisiana
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals has identified four new cases of Zika virus, bringing the total number of infections in the state to 19. All of the Louisiana cases reported, thus far, have been travel-related, involving patients who traveled to regions with ongoing Zika transmissions.Louisiana has not seen local transmissions, cases spread by mosquito bites. (Hunter, 8/5)
Health News Florida:
Dead Mosquitoes In Miami After Aerial Spraying
Airplanes dispersed insecticide over Miami early Thursday morning, and according to officials they’re already seeing a lot of dead mosquitos.Gov. Rick Scott and Dr. Tom Frieden—who heads the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—made the announcement at a press conference in Doral on Thursday afternoon. (Mack, 8/5)
