Countermeasures
The Denver Health and Hospital Authority signed a $3 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to demonstrate the effectiveness of a Regional Disaster Health Response System... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program has awarded $1.96 million to a pair of businesses to aid emergency communication network risk management assessments.
Orem, Utah-based Achilles Heel Technologies and SecureLogix, of San Antonio,... Read More »
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said the agencies have invited airports to participate in the Preclearance program for the first time in four years.
“Preclearance is an excellent passenger facilitation program that complements our... Read More »
A phase one trial of a COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Moderna, Inc. brought positive results, triggering strong immune responses among older volunteers while proving well-tolerated.
According to a report published this... Read More »
BARDA is partnering with Inversa to develop a treatment for eye problems associated with DNA damage, particularly those caused by chemical agents like sulfur mustard gas.
Ingrained in the public mind since its widespread use in WWI, sulfur mustard is a means of chemical warfare that causes the... Read More »
A new report from the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) says some gaps need to be addressed in the international system to prevent and respond to biological events.
NTI is calling on national and global leaders to take action now to prevent future biological events that could match or exceed the... Read More »
Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Jim Banks (R-IN), the co-chairs of the Future of Defense Task Force, released their final report with recommendations to enhance the national security innovation base to meet emerging threats.
Specifically, the report suggests strategies to win the artificial... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester introduced a bill that seeks to correct a longstanding disparity between federal firefighters and their state, local, and municipal counterparts.
The Federal Firefighter Flexibility and Fairness Act would allow federal firefighters more flexibility in shift trades without... Read More »
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) are among a group of lawmakers urging congressional leadership to include a six-month extension for states and local governments to spend their funding allocations provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in... Read More »
Cecil County, Maryland officials said first responders there are recipients of a new, purpose-built FirstNet cell site - providing a boost in wireless communications.
"This is great news for Earleville, Cecil County, and the surrounding areas,” Maryland State Sen. Steve Hershey (R-Dist. 36)... Read More »
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced a measure they said is designed to make it illegal to fraudulently sell firearms and ammunition online by circumventing technology companies’ terms of service.
The Stop Online Fraudulent Sales of Firearms Act is part of a larger... Read More »
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) plans to replace the W78 nuclear warhead with the W87-1 in 2030 are hamstrung by a lack of formal plans to assess cost, schedule, benefits, or risk, with as much as $14.8 billion on the line, according to the Government Accountability Office... Read More »
The federal government began its rollout of the Abbott BinaxNOW Ag Card rapid COVID-19 test to states this week with the announcement of a national distribution plan meant to support K-12 schools, higher education, critical infrastructure, first responders, and others as needed.
The test is... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Operational Experimentation (OpEx) Program has launched an effort to evaluate first responder technology solutions.
The OpEx Program has released a Request for Information (RFI) with four Technical Topic Areas... Read More »
With the introduction of the Improving Cybersecurity of Small Organizations Act of 2020 (S. 4731) last week, a bipartisan mix of senators and representatives seek to promote guidance on cybersecurity for small organizations such as businesses, nonprofits and local government agencies.
Among... Read More »
In the aftermath of wildfires that devastated wide swaths of land and communities, senators wrote to President Donald Trump last week requesting additional federal aid for wildfire response efforts and to assist recovery.
The senators requested quick increases to the number of fire personnel and... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced legislation last week that would direct the Federal Communications Commission to issue reports after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System and make improvements to network outage reporting.
The passage of the Emergency Reporting Act... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate that seeks to repeal or modify regulations that have impeded the ability of the government to rapidly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pandemic Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Act establishes a commission charged with prioritizing regulation... Read More »
Victoria Coleman, appointed as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) 22nd director, received the oath of office from Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Kratsios.
Coleman, who most recently served as senior advisor on microelectronics... Read More »
Kynamics of Mountain View, Calif., has secured a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) language translation capabilities funding award.
The $192,520 in Phase 1 funding would yield a portable, standalone... Read More »
The Assure COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Device this week became the first antibody point-of-care test for COVID-19 to receive emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Originally granted authorization for use by certain labs in July, the new EUA allows the test... Read More »
All 64 jurisdictions under the Immunizations and Vaccines for Children cooperative agreement will receive $200 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the coming days, as a means of supporting COVID-19 vaccination services.
The money will aid both planning and... Read More »
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is revealing major gaps in national readiness to prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological threats, requiring that decision makers consider improved policies, programs, and technologies to ramp up the federal defense, experts said during the Sept. 24 virtual... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program awarded $1 million to InferLink Corp. to develop a tool for sharing cybersecurity information.
Inferlink, based in El Segundo, Calif., awarded the Phase II contract to InferLink based on the successful... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation to protect public safety communications in the T-Band, used for mission-critical communications, and interoperable communications with other agencies.
The T-Band (470 MHz – 512 MHz) currently operates in 11 major metropolitan areas --... Read More »
Three lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) requesting insight regarding efforts to address foreign biomedical research influence.
Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Rep. Greg Walden... Read More »
Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced Wednesday legislation designed to create a COVID-19 Commission to assess the nation’s preparedness and response to the pandemic while providing guidance regarding future occurrences.
The measure would establish an independent,... Read More »
In an effort to better track COVID-19 infections, the Luminex Corporation and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) have partnered on the creation of a more advanced serology test.
This latest effort is based on the xMAP SARS-CoV-2 Multi-Antigen IgG assay, a... Read More »
A new, phase three clinical trial for Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies’ investigational COVID-19 vaccine began recruiting adult volunteers this week to see if a single dose could prevent symptomatic cases.
The trial will enroll up to 60,000 volunteers at nearly 215 clinical research sites in... Read More »
Top Trump Administration officials dismissed concerns that approval of a COVID-19 vaccine is being rushed to satisfy the President’s reelection efforts and assured the public they would volunteer to take any vaccine themselves that is ultimately approved by the government.
“We do feel the... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel in Boston, Mass., recently seized a Thailand shipment containing 196 grams of the opioid drug Tramadol.
“Illegal trading of opioids poses a significant health threat,” Michael Denning, director of Field Operations for the Boston Field Office,... Read More »
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) expressed gratitude to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) after the agency officially accepted her request to conduct an independent review of federal agencies' less-lethal weapons use.
Duckworth joined a group of lawmakers requesting the GAO to assess the... Read More »
As part of a 250-325 household study spanning three countries, The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will participate in a $7.1 million effort to investigate some of the unanswered questions surrounding COVID-19 and influenza transmission.
Among those questions being... Read More »
Democratic representatives and senators have introduced the No Nuclear Testing Without Approval Act to make nuclear testing dependent on Congressional authorization.
The effort comes from U.S. Reps. Steven Horsford (D-NV), Reps. Susie Lee (D-NV), Ben McAdams (D-UT), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), and TJ... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation this week that seeks to improve the Strategic National Stockpile and reduce America’s dependence on foreign sources of critical medical supplies.
The bill – Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act (H.R. 7574) – focuses... Read More »
