A.G. Gancarski
Zika season is all but upon us, and to that end Gov. Rick Scott visited Jacksonville Tuesday to discuss Florida’s ongoing struggles with Zika.
Scott found himself messaging heavily around Zika in 2016, frustrated with President Barack Obama not doing as much as he could to fund Zika-related costs.
In 2017, Scott has an ally in the White House — which, combined with a dry season so far and ample lead time, is helping Florida to get ahead of the virus early in the season.
In the gaggle Tuesday, Gov. Scott confirmed the expectation that D.C. would be a better partner for him in the Zika fight with the current President on the job.
“The positive is I’ve known [HHS] Secretary Price a long time. We were asking for support last year. Sometimes we felt it was hard to get support. We’ve gotten more support so far,” Scott said.
“I’ve talked to Sec. Price about Zika, and the importance of staying ahead of this,” Scott added, “and I believe like we’re going to have a good partner in the White House.”
“Specifically, the things that were important to us last year — as you know, we fought for federal funding, the $1.1B. What’s going to be important long-term is a vaccine,” Scott said.
“I believe that HHS is going to be a good partner. I think we’re going to have somebody who’s going to be responsive to the extent they can.
_____
Scott also discussed the state’s response to Zika — but not before lauding the “wonderful” job that Duval County’s Department of Health and the city are doing in that regard.
“You should have a slogan — Northeast Florida works, and Jacksonville works together,” Scott said. “The city has been an unbelievable partnet,” Scott added, citing the city’s mosquito control efforts.
“Right now, we’ve got the issue of fires,” Scott said, “but at some point we’re going to get some rain. And that’s when we’re going to get mosquitoes.”
Hence, the importance of a collaborative response.
“We don’t have active zones this year … actually, we’re seeing less Zika cases because it’s dry. But it’s still early,” Scott noted.
The local Department of Health is testing pregnant women currently, despite the earliness in the season. And the technology is in state now, cutting a long wait time that has now been resolved.
