The Obama administration plans to reallocate $81 million from the Department of Health and Human Services to fight the Zika virus, said a letter sent Thursday by HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell.
Burwell notified congressional leaders that she will transfer $34 million away from other programs at the National Institutes of Health and $47 million within the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority budget.
Last week, Burwell informed Congress that those two agencies were expected to run out of money by the end of August to fight the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.
She warned that NIH would be forced to delay vaccine development without the funds. Burwell estimates that those two programs alone would need $538 million over the coming year.
The administration is seeking $1.9 billion to fight Zika, but Congress has been deadlocked over the funding.
