Countermeasures
U.S. Reps. TJ Cox (D-CA) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) are seeking information from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on a nationwide COVID-19 wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) surveillance program.
As coronavirus cases are rising across the United States, WBE is an... Read More »
Argentum Medical has been awarded a contract by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its Silverlon burn dressings.
The Silverlon burn dressings will be used for patients affected by mass casualty incidents,... Read More »
Air Force officials recently commended the role Sandia National Laboratories played in providing virtual means that aided a critical B61-12 Life Extension Program test flight aboard the F-35A Lightning II jet fighter.
Under the National Nuclear Security Administration's guidance, the test was... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has determined the Department of State, the Department of Labor, and the U.S. Agency for International Development have taken steps to strengthen global anti-trafficking projects.
The GAO indicated while the entities acknowledged challenges that made it... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor (D-FL) and David McKinley (R-WV) announced Monday the introduction of bipartisan legislation aimed at reducing the flow of opioids to pill mills.
The Preventing Pill Mills Through Data Sharing Act would require drug wholesalers that ship opioids to drug stores and... Read More »
Results of a clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have shown that the drug provides no clinical benefit to adults hospitalized with COVID-19, and no improved outcomes, though it did not cause harm.
Published in the Journal of the American Medical... Read More »
A neutralizing antibody developed by Eli Lilly and Company -- bamlanivimab --for use on COVID-19 earned emergency use authorization from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week, specifically for treating mild to moderate cases.
Now, the drug can be utilized on those 12... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has awarded $198,407 to iProov Ltd. to help the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) streamline cross-border travel at ports of entry while still ensuring a high degree of confidence when verifying the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will provide technical assistance on a Phase 3 clinical trial underway to evaluate the drug lenzilumab being developed by Humanigen.
The drug is designed to prevent or treat an immune hyper-response called a cytokine storm.... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the cPass SARS-CoV-2 Neutralization Antibody Detection Kit, which detects neutralizing antibodies from recent or prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.
These are antibodies that bind to a specific part of a... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded ReVector program Phase 1 contracts to Stanford University and Ginkgo Bioworks to initiate microbiome modification initiatives in order to reduce mosquito-transmitted diseases.
DARPA maintains mosquitos are of concern to the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced last week that it will collaborate with Mesa Biotech, Inc. on its rapid combination test meant to diagnose and differentiate between SARS-CoV-2 – the virus behind COVID-19 – and influenza.
Known as Accula, the test... Read More »
Pfizer and BioNTech reported on Monday that their joint COVID-19 vaccine candidate is more than 90 percent effective at preventing infection among those without evidence of prior exposure.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer chairman and CEO, said.... Read More »
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) is urging Congress to pass legislation that would help protect and preserve retirement benefits for firefighters and emergency workers.
The Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2020 (H.R. 8696), introduced by Reps. Richard Neal (D-MA) and Kevin... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has made several recommendations to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to better improve processes for reporting costs.
The GAO said that while the department has made progress in establishing valid and reliable cost baselines for its business... Read More »
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has incorporated small satellite commercial imagery into its outlay, providing users thousands of images and geospatial data to aid mission objectives.
Before the development, the G-EGD system consisted of only MAXAR/Digital Globe imagery.... Read More »
BAE Systems is slated to build a facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, utilizing an investment of more than $100 million to support its military GPS products line.
The effort is in conjunction with the company's newly acquired Navigation & Sensor Systems business. The effort would unite local design... Read More »
In the wake of wildfires that have devastated much of Oregon this year, Erickson Aero Tanker of Hillsboro, Ore., won a $70.5 million federal contract for large air tanker services to aid wildland firefighting both in-state and abroad.
U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) both... Read More »
The U.S. Army announced contracts of up to $1.1 million each with nine small businesses and nonprofit research institutions last week to develop technologies capable of meeting certain military challenges.
These contracts will push contractors to spend six to 18 months, creating demonstration... Read More »
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott ordered the Vermont Army National Guard’s Combined Cyber Response Team (CCRT) to help the University of Vermont Health Network (UVMHN) to respond to a cyberattack last week.
The National Guard will be deployed to review thousands of computers and devices to ensure they... Read More »
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County in Kansas got a $999,958 grant from the Innovations in Community-Based Crime Reduction Program (CBCR) through the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
CBCR was established to reduce serious and violent crime, including gun violence; dismantle gang... Read More »
Justice Department officials said the agency has seized 27 domain names Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) illegally used to expand a global covert influence campaign.
The seizures represent a step against Iran's worldwide disinformation campaign, indicating each of the 27 domains... Read More »
In comments made to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week, major medical societies blasted efforts to change visa rules, citing concerns over limits the “arbitrary and disruptive” change would impose and pleading for exemptions for physicians.
Together, the societies -- which... Read More »
Seeking to address confusion over coverage requirements for COVID-19 testing due to new guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Republican senators wrote to HHS Secretary Alex Azar for clarification.
The writers, who included U.S. Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Rick Scott... Read More »
Through a new contract announced this week, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will provide up to $30 million to Invirsa, a small Columbus, Ohio, biopharmaceutical company, for a treatment that could hold the cure to DNA-damage from sulfur mustard injuries in... Read More »
FirstNet cell sites have been installed in several locations throughout New Hampshire to improve wireless communications for first responders.
FirstNet is the only nationwide, high-speed broadband communications platform for America’s first responders and the public safety community. It is... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense released its new data strategy in September to make it easier for warfighters and decision-makers to access the data they need to do their jobs.
"This strategy is for warfighters and decision-makers," David Spirk said on Oct. 28 at the National Defense Industrial... Read More »
A Memphis, Tennessee-based Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operation initiated in July 2019 has yielded nearly 200 seizures of counterfeit ID cards and illegal narcotics.
Operation Mega Flex involves an interagency effort seeking to measure compliance and assess illicit networks in the... Read More »
The Army has awarded BAE Systems multiple contracts to develop key technologies for the service branch's Advanced Teaming Demonstration Program (A-Team).
The pacts totaling $9 million address three of the program’s four focus areas and are designed to advance manned and unmanned teaming... Read More »
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) granted more than $8.1 million to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) this week to help it cover costs accrued by the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic after a federal disaster declaration in March.
In all, the funds... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has extended a partnership with Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (Clover) to include funding for a global phase 2/3 efficacy clinical trial and licensure of its S-Trimer COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
S-Trimer is a protein-based... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) signed a contract with McKesson Corp. to produce and distribute ancillary to help healthcare workers administering COVID-19 vaccines once they are approved.
The ancillary supply kits will be produced and distributed on behalf of the... Read More »
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) awarded more than $458 million in grant funding for state, local, and tribal law enforcement to fight violent crime.
OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance made a total of 1,094 grants totaling more than $369 million to support local... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice recently filed a complaint regarding the forfeiture of a pair of Iranian missile shipments and petroleum seized from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Navy seized the missiles in transit to militant groups in Yemen while the 1.1 million barrels... Read More »
Army and Northrop Grumman personnel said the recent deployment of enhanced Joint Tactical Ground Station (JTAGS) capabilities in South Korea enables early warning of missile attacks and other events.
“This is a tremendous milestone in our decades-long mission of delivering missile warning and... Read More »
