Dear Lucas:
I am sorry to have to tell you this, but the Zika epidemic has arrived on our doorstep. As you may have heard, the mosquito-borne virus that can cause severe birth defects, including microcephaly, has made its way here to the largest metropolitan area in the United States – and there is still no cure and no vaccine.
Since April, 49 pregnant women in New York City have already tested positive for the virus, and one infant has been born with microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by an underdeveloped brain and head.
I recently returned from a fact-finding trip to West Africa with Senator Ed Markey, the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Africa and Global Health Policy Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Karen Bass, the Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa.
While there, we met with mothers who had contracted Zika during their pregnancies and had given birth to children with microcephaly. It was heartbreaking to hear the mother’s stories and their concerns about their infants’ futures, born with little chance of a normal life.
I then shared those stories at a recent press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio to inform New Yorkers about the challenges we’re facing to put pressure on Congress to act.
New York City and state officials are doing all they can at the moment, but the Republican-led Congress has failed to approve the federal funding we need to research a vaccine and implement a clear and effective national strategy to stop the spread of the epidemic.
One of the reasons the funding has been stalled is because right-wing extremists have tried to use the Zika bill to defund Planned Parenthood. At a time when health experts are advising women in affected areas to delay pregnancy, it is especially outrageous that some are trying to make access to family planning resources and contraception even more difficult and expensive for women at risk.
In the absence of a Zika funding bill, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control have been reduced to shifting funds from other badly needed programs, like the battle against Ebola, to fund a fight against Zika. This is like robbing Peter to pay Paul, and it makes no sense. And even that funding is now running out.
Media coverage of my press conference with Mayor de Blasio made clear the urgency of the issue, and the steps states and cities are being forced to take in the absence of congressional action:
- The New York Daily News noted that all the New York City cases have been contracted by travel abroad or sexual contact and that those numbers are expected rise. So far there have been no cases here that have been transmitted by mosquitoes.
- CBS noted that the city has already committed $21 million to protect New Yorkers from Zika.
It’s time for Congress to end the politicking and do the job we were elected to do: protect the American people from all threats big and small.
Thank you,
Carolyn