Subject: ICYMI: A Coalition of Nearly 70 National Medical & Other Organizations Has Written Congress in Favor of A Zika Supplemental
From: Dem Leader Press Office <[email-masked]>
To: Undisclosed recipients:;
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2016 16:49:06 +0000

Below is a letter from a coalition, led by the March of Dimes, of nearly 70 national medical and other organizations, which has urged Congress “to immediately provide emergency supplemental funding to prepare for and respond to the Zika virus here in the United States.”  The organizations include the American Medical Association, Research!America, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Pediatric Society, American Academy of Family Physicians, National Medical Association, National Hispanic Medical Association, American Nurses Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, March of Dimes, National Birth Defects Prevention Network, Easter Seals, and numerous other groups.

In addition, click here<http://www.marchofdimes.org/materials/MOD-Zika-fact-sheet-March-2016.pdf> for an excellent fact sheet on the Zika Virus, prepared by the March of Dimes.
April 5, 2016

The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC  20515

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC  20515

The Honorable Fred Upton
Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Washington, DC  20515

The Honorable Frank Pallone
Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Washington, DC  20515

The Honorable Hal Rogers
Chairman
Committee on Appropriations
Washington, DC  20515

The Honorable Nita Lowey
Ranking Member
Committee on Appropriations
Washington, DC  20515

Dear Speaker Ryan and Minority Leader Pelosi, Chairman Upton and Representative Pallone, and Chairman Rogers and Representative Lowey,

The undersigned organizations committed to the health and wellbeing of our nation’s families and communities urge you in the strongest terms to immediately provide emergency supplemental funding to prepare for and respond to the Zika virus here in the United States. We also urge that Congress provide new funding rather than repurpose money from other high priority programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies that ensure our health security and public health preparedness.

As you know, the Zika virus has been linked to microcephaly, a serious birth defect of the brain, in babies of mothers who contracted the virus while pregnant. Thousands of devastating birth defects have been observed among infants born in South and Central America in recent months.  Zika has already been diagnosed in travelers returning to the U.S. from these areas.  As the summer months approach and we enter mosquito season, our nation can expect to be exposed to mosquitos that can spread this virus.  Over four million babies are born in our nation each year, and many of their mothers could be at risk for contracting Zika during pregnancy.

With emergency supplemental funding to respond to the Zika virus, state and local public health professionals would have access to increased virus readiness and response capacity focused on areas with ongoing Zika transmission; enhanced laboratory, epidemiology and surveillance capacity in at-risk areas to reduce the opportunities for Zika transmission and surge capacity through rapid response teams to limit potential clusters of Zika virus in the United States. Moreover, supplemental funding will assist the CDC and USAID in efforts to contain the Zika virus in Zika-endemic countries and ensure that there are resources for surveillance, vector control and services for affected pregnant women and children.

If we take immediate action, we may be able to dramatically slow the spread of Zika, giving scientists time to develop and test a vaccine.  Without action, however, we fear the number of newborns born with debilitating birth defects will only continue to rise.  In addition to the human toll on children and families, the CDC estimates that the average lifetime cost of caring for each child born with microcephaly will likely be millions of dollars per child.  For hard-hit communities, an epidemic of severe birth defects could quickly overwhelm health care and social services systems, and put extreme pressure on educational and other institutions.

The President has requested emergency funding to educate Americans about protecting themselves, reduce the mosquito population, and accelerate Zika vaccine research.  Each of these steps is vital to reducing the likelihood that pregnant women will be exposed to the Zika virus.

Our nation has a brief window of opportunity to slow the spread of the Zika virus and avert a wave of preventable birth defects.  We urge you to act immediately to provide the emergency resources necessary to protect pregnant women, infants and children from this devastating infection.

Sincerely,

Academic Pediatric Association
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Clinical Chemistry
American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
American College of Nurse-Midwives
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American Medical Association
American Nurses Association
American Pediatric Society
American Public Health Association
American Sexual Health Association
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
Children's Environmental Health Network
Children's Hospital Association
Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service, Inc.
Cooley's Anemia Foundation
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
Easter Seals
Every Child By Two
First Candle
GBS|CIDP Foundation International
Healthcare Ready
HIV Medicine Association
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Intrexon
Johnson & Johnson
March of Dimes
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Birth Defects Prevention Network
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
National Council of La Raza
National Environmental Health Association
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Medical Association
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Organization for Rare Disorders
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Recreation and Park Association
Novavax, Inc.
Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health
OraSure Technologies, Inc.
Oregon Public Health Association
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
Pediatric Policy Council
Public Health Institute
Research!America
Resolve: The National Infertility Association
Save Babies Through Screening Foundation
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Pediatric Research
Society for Women's Health Research
The Arc
The Newborn Foundation
Trisomy 18 Foundation
Trust for America's  Health