Hawai‘i to Receive $2.5M to Fight Infection Diseases

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will award $2,469,750 to the Hawai‘i Department of Health, according to an press release issued by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The funding will help Hawai‘i combat infectious disease threats such as antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, Zika, influenza and the chikungunya virus.

“As an isolated state, Hawai‘i needs to have its own infrastructure in place to deal with the threat of infectious diseases,” said Sen. Schatz. “With this funding, we’ll have the resources needed to prevent, prepare for and respond to the worst.”

This grant is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases Cooperative Agreement awards, which help states prepare for and respond to public health threats by increasing workforce readiness, modernizing laboratories, and improving health information systems.