U.S. Senator Charles Schumer
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Charles Schumer Sunday pushed for a three-point federal plan aimed at containing the Zika virus outbreak that has already affected thirty people in the United States, including at least five in New York.
First, Schumer is calling on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to prioritize and increase its involvement in Zika-affected countries abroad in order to better prevent, contain and treat the virus.
Schumer is also calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) to develop a vaccine and to work alongside the private sector in doing so.
And Schumer is calling on the U.S. to push the World Health Organization (WHO) to publicly declare a health emergency.
Currently, there is no cure, treatment or vaccine available for Zika, which can be extremely serious to pregnant women because of possible birth defects linked to the virus.
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