U.S. health officials are itching to use the Zika funds they’ve begged for all year

Congress took nearly eight months to send money to help fight a dire public health threat. Now that lawmakers have approved $1.1 billion, health officials say the funds can't arrive quickly enough to make up for lost time.

"The point is to make sure that it reaches the local health department,” said Dallas County Health Director Zach Thompson. “When it gets down to it, all public health is local when you are responding to an outbreak.”