USA TODAY
By Liz Szabo
Short on funding to combat a potential Zika outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control shifted $44 million from its fund for local health departments to Zika, a move that public health officials say weakness their ability to plan for and respond to other emergencies.
The CDC tapped into the Public Health Emergency Preparedness program, which provides federal money for communities to deal with health emergencies of all kinds, from hurricanes to flu pandemics.
Cutting this program to pay for Zika preparation could have a “crippling” effect on local health departments and amounts to “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” said LaMar Hasbrouck, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, one of four public health groups that conducted a survey of local health staff this week.
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In addition, health commissioners are also waiting on Congress and are getting a jump on preparations in creative ways.
