Zika funding falls short but will be well spent, health officials say

(CNN)Rest assured, America: The billion dollars Congress just gave the fight on Zika will be well spent, even if it's not enough and much too late.

That's the message from Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and key public health officials Monday.

Everything you need to know about Zika

"There is a reason that we asked for the $1.9 billion," said Burwell. "There were important uses for the money. There were a number of things we could not get started. " One example, said Nicole Lurie, assistant HHS secretary for preparedness and response, was the need to start work early in the outbreak with outside companies in order to bring a vaccine or rapid diagnostic test more quickly to market.

"We had manufacturers walk away from negotiations with us because they weren't sure if the money was going to be there," said Lurie. "We are behind where we should be on vaccine development and diagnostic test development."

Work is progressing, despite obstacles The good news, according to agencies, is that the funds that were redirected have been put to good use.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is helping Florida and Puerto Rico fight active infestations of the Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that spreads Zika, and has developed Zika test kits that have been distributed to US states as well as 100 countries around the world.

"We will continue and extend our work, such as sending emergency response teams to partner with states," said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden. "And we are asking for research proposals on how to improve how we diagnose Zika, both short- and long-term, and how we control mosquitoes."

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