CDC Head: The Window Is Closing On Opportunity To Effectively Fight Zika
On the same day Congress left town without approving money to fight the outbreak, Dr. Tom Frieden, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that time is running out. He knows how to change the course of an epidemic, he says, but he can't because his hands are tied on funding. Key House Republicans say, however, that more money will be coming and the government's efforts have not been hamstrung.
The Hill:
CDC Director: 'We're Losing Time With Zika'
The nation’s top disease official warned Thursday that he is running out of time to prevent a Zika outbreak — the same day Congress left town without approving more funds to fight the virus. “We have a narrow window of opportunity to scale up effective Zika prevention measures, and that window of opportunity is closing,” Dr. Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said during a speech at the National Press Club. (Ferris, 5/26)
Huffington Post:
CDC Head Tom Frieden Delivers Emotional Plea For Zika Funding
Dr. Tom Frieden has dealt with a number of epidemics during his seven-year tenure as director of the Centers for Disease Control. But the rapidly spreading Zika virus, the terrifying birth defects it causes and Congress’ inexplicable foot-dragging on funding anti-Zika efforts has him feeling downright desperate. “Imagine that you’re standing by and you see someone drowning, and you have the ability to stop them from drowning, but you can’t,” Frieden told a packed room of reporters and potential donors at the National Press Club on Thursday. “Now multiply that by 1,000 or 100,000. That’s what it feels like to know how to change the course of an epidemic and not be able to do it.” (Bassett, 5/26)