The Hill: CDC chief to GOP: Zika funding ‘urgently needed’
“Top federal health officials want Congress to know they urgently need more money to fight the Zika virus — and that time is running out. In media interviews and briefings on Thursday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden stressed that funding from Congress is ‘crucially important and urgently needed’…” (Ferris, 3/10).

New York Times: Health Officials Urge Congress to Fund Zika Research
“…Describing a recent trip to Puerto Rico to survey efforts there to contain the Zika virus, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the island ‘is on the front lines and facing an uphill battle’…” (McNeil, 3/10).

Science Speaks: Frieden and Fauci: While evidence of Zika impacts mounts, lack of funding complicates response, slows work on other health threats
“…Dr. Tom Frieden of the U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control and Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that while they are able to reallocate some resources in the short term, that comes at the cost of other ongoing work, including to counter dengue and tick borne viruses, and in HIV as well as flu vaccine research…” (Barton, 3/10).

Washington Post: Zika outbreak: ‘The more we learn, the worse things seem to get’
“…On Capitol Hill, Republican appropriators have so far refused to approve [approximately $1.9 million in] emergency funding for Zika. In a Feb. 18 letter, they pointed to roughly $2.7 billion in unspent Ebola response funds that could be redirected to Zika efforts. … If additional funds are needed, they said, they could be considered as part of the fiscal 2017 spending process, which would make additional funds available no sooner than Oct. 1…” (Sun/DeBonis, 3/10).