AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Department of Health and Human Services is getting federal funding to bolster preparedness and response to the Zika virus.
Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an Independent, say it’s imperative to begin planning for the arrival of the mosquito-borne virus that’s “an imminent and evolving public health threat.”
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded more than $175,000 to the state.
The Obama administration recently shifted about $500 million from fighting Ebola to address Zika, a virus that causes severe birth defects. The issue of additional Zika funding has been caught up in partisan fights in Washington, D.C.
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