TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Rick Scott on Friday authorized spending an additional $10 million in state money to help battle the Zika virus, while U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said he is optimistic that Congress will soon pass a twice-defeated bill authorizing $1.1 billion in Zika funding.
Scott in June used emergency powers to authorize $26.2 million in state funding, but the number of cases of the mosquito-borne virus has sharply grown and totaled 823 in Florida as of Thursday, according to the state Department of Health.
Scott's office said the state money will be spent "as needed" on issues such as mosquito abatement, training for mosquito-control workers and the purchase of Zika prevention kits.
President Barack Obama early this year proposed spending $1.9 billion to fund research, vaccine development and battling mosquitoes to help battle the disease, but funding has been defeated due to unrelated measures being attached to the bill.
Nelson believes a slightly smaller funding measure will soon pass Congress.
"I think the silly political games are just about run their course and that we'll get some clean legislation," Nelson said as he arrived in Jacksonville Friday afternoon.
The virus is particularly dangerous to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects.
Doctors at a Philadelphia-based lab announced Friday they were testing a vaccine that is approved for human trials. Nelson said this is positive development, but will take more money.
You have to go out and get lots of people to do the trials, and then, if that vaccine is successful, then you have to go into the second trial which is with hundreds of people to make sure that it's safe for the general public," Nelson said. "That process will take a couple of years before we have a vaccine but it's a quite costly experience for society."
News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Reported Zika Virus Cases in the United States | HealthGrove