(MENAFN- QNA) Time is running out for Congress to prolong emergency funding to fight the Ebola epidemic, and top Obama administration officials Thursday asked for approval of 6.2 billion dollars by December 11.
That's the date that a temporary round of emergency funding expires.
"It is critical we fund this quickly and at a level that is appropriate to the epidemic," Shaun Donovan, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said.
The money would go toward training healthcare workers and improving emergency preparedness systems in US hospitals, providing more resources on the ground in West Africa and researching vaccine and therapeutic treatments.
"This is a top priority from a public health and global security perspective," Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell said.
The measure would put 4.5 billion dollars to the immediate response, and 1.5 billion into a contingency fund for the evolving threat and for scaling up supplies if a vaccine is found, Donovan said.
Six potential Ebola vaccines are undergoing a phase 1 study, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Three of the six were first introduced to the study last week.
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