Obama Administration To Shift $81M From Various Government Programs To Fund Zika Vaccine Research

ABC News: Feds Use Funds for Medicaid, Children’s Services to Avoid Delaying Zika Vaccine Research
“Federal health officials have been forced to take $81 million in funds from various government programs, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Administration for Children and Families, in order to avoid delaying research on Zika vaccines, according to a letter from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell…” (Mohney/Marshall, 8/11)

The Hill: Administration shifts funds to boost Zika vaccine work
“…In a letter to Congress, Burwell portrayed the move as a last resort given the inaction from Congress in providing new funding, and continued to urge lawmakers to approve new funds when they return in September…” (Sullivan, 8/11).

New York Times: With Congress Deadlocked, White House Diverts Funds to Fight Zika
“…The local spread of the illness in the continental United States, with the first cases reported late last month, has raised the political stakes surrounding the federal government’s response…” (Davis, 8/11).

POLITICO: Administration shifts more funds to Zika fight
“…Congress stalemated on a $1.1 billion Zika compromise package before its long summer recess. Both parties have been holding events and issuing statements, blaming the other for not funding the effort to stop the virus, which can cause devastating birth defects. The White House initially had asked for $1.9 billion…” (Haberkorn, 8/11).

Reuters: U.S. government shifts $81 million to Zika vaccine research
“…In a letter addressed to Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat and minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said she was allocating $34 million in funding to the National Institutes of Health and $47 million to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to work on Zika vaccines…” (Steenhuysen/Clarke, 8/11).

TIME: Obama Administration Moves $81 Million to Fight Zika
“…Burwell said the two programs would likely run out of money by the end of the month to fight off the spread of Zika, and would need $538 million over the next year…” (Gajanan, 8/11).

USA TODAY: Obama administration moves money around to fund Zika vaccine
“…Money for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which launched the first phase of a Zika vaccine trial last week, will come from other institutes within the NIH, Burwell said in a letter to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The institutes tapped for money will include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Administration for Children and Families, which helps to fight poverty…” (Szabo, 8/11).

Wall Street Journal: New Zika Funding to Come From Inside NIH
“…Anthony S. Fauci, who heads the NIH’s overall response to Zika, said that short-term transfers of funds within NIH and HHS, such as those announced Thursday, aren’t a permanent solution at all. Transferring the money will mean taking money from cancer research and other causes, he said…” (Burton/McWhirter, 8/11).

Washington Post: Obama administration to shift $81 million to fight Zika
“… ‘The failure to pass a Zika emergency supplemental has forced the administration to choose between delaying critical vaccine development work and raiding other worthy government programs to temporarily avoid these delays,’ Burwell wrote…” (Snell/Dennis, 8/11).

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