Bay Ridge

Donovan warns Zika research jeopardized by partisan rancor

Calls for congressional passage of funding bill

August 2, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan says the spread of Zika is too dangerous for Congress to be playing partisan games. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas
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U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan warned that partisan warfare over federal funding for Zika research is causing a dangerous delay in the development of a vaccine to treat the virus.

Donovan, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications, blasted what he called “partisan games” in Congress for jeopardizing development of a vaccine.

In July, Senate Democrats blocked a funding bill that had been sent over by House Republicans because the GOP added provisions to the legislation that would have reduced funding for Planned Parenthood, defunded parts of the Affordable Care Act and reversed a ban on flying Confederate flags in military cemeteries.

But Donovan (R-C-Southwest Brooklyn-Staten Island) said the time for partisan bickering is over and that it’s time to act.

At a Zika briefing Donovan held in mid-July, officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned that three companies researching a potential Zika vaccine threatened to halt development because of the uncertainty over funding.

“The Zika epidemic is about to shift from a natural crisis to a man-made catastrophe. Three vaccine research companies have already threatened to halt their efforts. It’s shameful to jeopardize the solution to a public health crisis over partisan bickering. Frankly, expecting mothers at risk of contracting the Zika virus don’t care if it’s an election year,” Donovan said in a statement

Zika can cause severe birth defects. Mothers infected with Zika have given birth to babies with shrunken heads, a disease called microcephaly.

The Zika outbreak is growing by the day.

Several cases have been confirmed in Wynwood, a small community just north of Miami, Florida.

On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) took the unusual step of issuing a travel warning for pregnant women and their partners not to travel to Wynwood. There have been 14 confirmed cases of Zika in that community, according to www.cdc.gov, the CDC’s website.

Monday’s warning marked the first time the CDC has issued a travel warning for an American community.

Earlier this year, the Obama administration redirected $589 million from the government’s Ebola response account to address the Zika outbreak. Included in that money was $85 million to that the administration provided for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency (BARDA) to fund vaccine development. HHS officials told Donovan that BARDA will run out of Zika funding this month.

BARDA has a portfolio of vaccine candidates but cannot support any of them through clinical trials without additional funding, according to Donovan, who said the Ebola funds only take the vaccine candidates to the point of being ready for clinical studies. Without further funding, clinical trials cannot begin.

BARDA representatives told Donovan that it would take three to six months to resume work on viable candidates.

In June, the House of Representatives passed legislation to fund Zika research to the tune of $1.1 billion. Senate Democrats blocked the bill.

The Obama administration has an additional $2 billion in available Ebola funds that it could redirect to combat Zika, Donovan said.

“As partisan squabbles derail measures to protect the American public, the Obama administration should immediately reallocate some Ebola funds to ensure vaccine development is not delayed,” Donovan said.

To date, there are more than 1,100 travel-associated cases of Zika in the U.S. and more than 300 cases of pregnant women in the U.S. diagnosed with Zika. More than 40 million people travel to the U.S. from Zika-affected countries each year.

 

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