WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The spread and impact of the Zika virus is wider than initially anticipated and the first vaccine candidate for the virus should be available in September, U.S. health officials said on Monday.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, a deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters the type of mosquito in which the virus is carried is present in more U.S. states than initially thought. She said what authorities are learning about the virus is “scarier than we initially thought.”

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a White House briefing the first Zika vaccine candidate should be available in September.

(Adds dropped word “initially” in quote in headline and second paragraph)

(Reporting by Clarece Polke; Editing by Tim Ahmann)