Zika

Obama asking Congress for $1.8 billion for Zika

By Joanne Kenen

President Barack Obama will announce today that he's sending Congress a proposal for $1.8 billion in Zika virus funding for research, testing and public health.

The money will include funds for expanding mosquito control as well as speeding up research and testing of vaccines and new diagnostics. It will also fund education and outreach to health care providers and women who are or who may become pregnant, and health services for low-income pregnant women. It also will work with "Zika-affected countries to better combat mosquitoes and control transmission," a White House statement said.

"There shouldn't be panic on this. This is not something where people are going to die from it," Obama said in an interview with CBS, according to excerpts. But he said it must be taken seriously because of the mounting evidence the virus causes severe birth defects.

If the funding is approved by Congress, the White House said the Department of Health and Human Services will get $1.48 billion, and that includes money for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USAID would get $335 million, and the State Department $41 million, which would include help for UNICEF's efforts in Brazil.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will appear at the White House press briefing today.