U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal met with members of the CaroGen Corporation in Farmington on Wednesday to discuss what can be done to help develop vaccines for the Zika virus.
Blumenthal said Congress is failing to fully pay for research into preventative methods and vaccines for the virus, after the House and Senate couldn't agree on a funding bill.
"Like any disease this one will cost more in the long term effects when it’s not prevented," Blumenthal said.
Those who attended the conference with the senator at CaroGen echoed his sentiments on funding. Although about $2 million has been raised for development of a vaccine, researchers at the Farmington lab say they need $10 million to fund the research, and even more would be needed to expedite the process.
Steven Geary, a researcher at the University of Connecticut, said knowing what to do is not the problem. What is a problem, said Geary, is money.
"There are good strategies for doing this and it can be done," he said. "You need to put the money in to get it done though. It’s not a matter of we can’t do it. They know how to do it. They have to have the funds to do it."
Although no Zika cases have been transmitted by mosquitoes in Connecticut so far, the state is still taking precautions. Researchers say they've trapped and tested over 120,000 mosquitoes and none have tested positive for the virus.
Officials say Puerto Rico is experiencing a rapid increase in Zika cases. But in spite of the large Puerto Rican population in Connecticut, state health commissioner Raul Pino says most of the cases they're seeing come from the Dominican Republic.
Speaking on WNPR's Where We Live, Pino said that is something they weren't expecting. "It may be that some of the measures we have taken and that Puerto Rico has put into place are working at this point," he said. "But still, it's early in the season for Puerto Rico. So, we'll see what happens.
Listen below to Pino on WNPR's Where We Live:
Pino said protection like removing standing water near homes and using insect repellents are recommended.
David DesRoches and Tucker Ives contributed to this report.
