A new poll found that 60 percent of Americans say the U.S. is doing enough to protect people from the Zika virus, as Congress and the White House battle over funding to battle the outbreak.
The poll, released Thursday from the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, found that eight in 10 Americans surveyed have heard or read at least something about Zika. The virus, primarily spread by bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, has spread to more than 50 countries and territories around the world.
Ninety percent say the U.S. should invest resources to prevent the spread of the virus, and 83 percent want investments in research on Zika.
Another 77 percent want to help women in countries with outbreaks have access birth control and 74 percent want to give those countries money, the poll said.
About 58 percent of Americans who have heard about the virus say the U.S. is doing enough to protect its citizens, while 26 percent believe it is not.
The poll, based on surveys of 1,508 people, comes as Congress and the White House are in a bitter fight over President Obama’s $1.9 billion emergency funding request. Republicans believe the administration should use leftover funding appropriated for the Ebola outbreak.
The administration agreed to appropriate about $500 million of Ebola money but said it needs more.
White House officials have accused Republicans of playing politics with an outbreak looming, and Republicans have charged that the administration hasn’t fully answered questions about how the money will be spent.
So far the virus hasn’t spread via mosquito bites in the U.S., but health officials warn that could change as summer comes.
