Zika PAYDAY! Obama wants to funnel $1.8 billion for vaccine research and more

Wednesday, March 02, 2016 by: Harold Shaw
Tags: Zika virus, Tdap vaccine, huge dollars

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(NaturalNews) Until 2016, Zika wasn't taken very seriously by American authorities. The relaxed attitude suggested that it was just another mundane disease in third-world countries. This much was clear from the CDC's attitude and lack of recommendations regarding the virus. Soon enough, however, a concerning percentage of pregnant women that contracted the virus gave birth to children suffering from birth malformations. Even though Zika was not fatal, there seemed to be a link between the virus and congenital disorders.

A few months later, Zika didn't go away. In fact, it came closer. As of February 17, there were 82 documented cases of Zika infection throughout the U.S. according to official figures. The number of infections went up and so did birth malformations. It didn't take long for representatives of the people to rally themselves and take action, so all of the 46 Democrats in the Senate addressed an letter to the White House demanding an "urgent and aggressive response" against the virus. No less than a week later, the administration proposed a $1.8 billion emergency fund from the Congress to fight off the infection spreading through the United States.

What we know about the virus

Zika appeared around the 1950s in the African country Uganda. The estimated incubation time of the virus is a few days, and symptoms often overlap that of dengue fever: high temperature, rashes, joint and muscle pain, headaches and malaise. While it is treatable, a relatively small percentage of people develop other conditions that are even more concerning. One of them is the Guillain–Barre syndrome, a particularly rare neurological disorder that can paralyze an individual for weeks on end.

Another serious concern regarding the virus regards pregnant women. After quite a few cases of children being born with microcephaly, authorities have begun to popularize a speculative link between this disorder and Zika. Microcephaly is a condition that prevents the babies' heads from developing to a normal size. From hearing and vision loss to seizures, developmental delay and intellectual disability, microcephaly can trigger a mass reaction that affects the entire life of the newborn to an extreme degree. Knowing the full implications of this microbe became the top priority for everyone.

Still, medical researchers have yet to provide any convincing evidence linking Zika and microcephaly. In fact, many health experts have pointed at GMO mosquitoes, larvacide being poured into drinking water in impoverished areas and pregnant women being mandated to receive Tdap vaccines, which contain mercury, formaldehyde, aluminum and antibiotics, among other possibly toxic agents, as other possible causes of microcephaly in the region. The Tdap vaccine, among others, has also been linked to Guillain–Barre syndrome, for which Zika virus is now being blamed.

Zika payday

President Obama proposed to Congress that a total of $1.8 billion be dedicated to fighting Zika. This massive investment may be nothing more than tilting at windmills, since it's possible to contract the virus and not develop the symptoms whatsoever, silently spreading it to other regions. A large portion of these funds are to be used for preparation, research, vaccines and containment of Zika on American territory, while $335 million will be directed towards the U.S. Agency for International Development. Besides this, Puerto Rico will also receive a $250 million one-year increase in Medicaids funds.

Currently, mosquitoes are the likeliest way to contract the virus, as they can carry infected blood and then contaminate healthy individuals through bites. Oddly enough, the recent reports of a spike in Zika cases overlaps with an attempt to genetically modify mosquitoes in order to prevent them from spreading dengue fever and other related conditions. One cannot help but wonder whether the initial spread of the virus was actually triggered by the mutated insects.

The White House advises Americans to remain calm, particularly since this outbreak is not as lethal as the Ebola one in 2014. But Obama is requesting $2 billion supposedly to fight it off. That money could be used to solve some of the nations' already pressing matters. Surely, it would be too cruel for Big Pharma to access government funding by triggering a health concern in the first place, right?

Sources include:

ECDC.Europa.eu^[PDF]

ScienceDaily.com

NPR.org

WashingtonPost.com

WHO.int