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Sen. Schumer Calls On CDC To Provide More Support For Dealing With The Enterovirus

Sen. Charles Schumer
Sen. Charles Schumer

New York Senator Charles Schumer is urging the federal government to send more resources to hospitals and schools around the state to help them combat the Enterovirus, which causes respiratory problems.

Schumer says with the strain of that virus known as “D68” affecting more and more children and leading more kids to be taken to hospital emergency rooms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should provide help.

The senator would like to see the CDC provide New York State labs with additional resources, like test supplies and personnel and he wants to see the agency do more to encourage health professionals to report cases of the enterovirus to the CDC so that it can be better tracked. He also wants the CDC to provide guidance to schools to help school officials and parents recognize the symptoms of the virus.

Schumer says currently, health professionals are not required to report cases of that virus so it makes it difficult to get a handle on just how many people are affected.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.