Obama Asks Congress for $1.8 Billion to Fight Zika Virus

On Feb. 8, President Barack Obama requested Congress to help combat this disease by providing $1.8 billion in emergency funding to build on its ongoing efforts. On the White House's official web page, the administration notes, "Specifically, we’d use the requested resources to rapidly expand mosquito control programs, accelerate vaccine research and diagnostic development, enable testing and procurement of vaccines and diagnostics, educate health care providers, pregnant women and their partners, improve epidemiology and expand laboratory testing capacity, improve health services and support for low-income pregnant women, and enhance the ability of Zika-affected countries to better combat mosquitoes and control transmission."