Schumer pushes for increased funds to fight mosquito-borne illnesses

In the wake of the first human death from Eastern Equine Encephalitis in New York State in almost a decade, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer was in Rockland County last Wednesday to announce a push for more federal aid to fight mosquito-borne illnesses.

He is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which works with the EPA, to ensure coordination and outline a plan for working with New York State and local communities to survey and track mosquitoes.

The senator is also pushing to increase funding for the CDC’s Vector-Borne Diseases programs, which includes EEEV and West Nile, with $65 million in new funding as we see increases in those diseases due to changing weather.

“Mosquito control is not something we can address once and forget about – it requires continuous attention and resources,” said Rockland County Executive Ed Day. “Securing these critical resources is vital to ensuring counties like Rockland have the resources we need to protect our residents from dangerous diseases.”