Countermeasures
The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) issued a statement about the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, any poisoning of an individual through the use of a nerve agent is considered a use of... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has introduced a new communication network that allows emergency responders to exchange secure real-time voice, data, and video information during nuclear or radiological emergencies.
The Emergency Communications... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health awarded $129.3 million for COVID-19 testing technologies as part of its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative.
The contracts went to nine companies for technologies that include portable point-of-care tests for immediate results or results within... Read More »
A Center for American Progress (CAP) report maintains there are lessons to be learned regarding 2016 election interference and addresses steps to shield future votes from such actions.
“America was caught off guard in 2016, but there are no excuses in future elections,” said James Lamond,... Read More »
Two government entities said they have partnered to introduce the Election Risk Profile Tool to aid election officials and federal agencies in prioritizing and managing election infrastructure cybersecurity risks.
“There is no question the security of our election systems has vastly improved,... Read More »
The intravenously administered drug Kevzara will no longer be investigated as a potential COVID-19 treatment, Sanofi confirmed this week, after it failed to meet either its primary or secondary goals during a phase 3 trial among severely and critically ill patients.
Hundreds were tested with the... Read More »
A study run by collaborators from Imperial College London and Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre has found that the over the counter steroid hydrocortisone improves recovery changes among patients critically ill with COVID-19.
"The studies published today show that we now have more... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is looking to expand the department’s authorities and methods for collecting biometrics to improve the screening and vetting process.
The proposed rule changes would modernize biometrics collection and authorize expanded use of biometrics beyond... Read More »
The virus that causes COVID-19 has mutated minimally since December 2019, according to a study by a team of scientists from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
The research team arrived at this conclusion after conducting a genetic analysis of sequences from more than 27,000 individuals... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that the agency has deployed more biometric facial comparison technology to reduce traveler contact and streamline the travel experience.
Officials said, through a partnership with Los Angeles World of Airports (LAWA), Los Angeles International... Read More »
In the wake of September being National Preparedness Month (NPM), federal officials are encouraging family and community disaster planning now and throughout the year.
This year’s theme, "Disasters Don’t Wait. Make Your Plan Today," emphasizes the importance of making a plan, building a... Read More »
Roche announced this week plans to launch a SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test capable of 15-minute turnarounds for markets accepting the CE Mark and file for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Meant for use in point of care settings -- which allow... Read More »
A contract between Royal Philips and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that would have brought 43,000 bundled EV300 ventilator configurations to the Strategic National Stockpile will be terminated after fulfillment of just 12,300 this month.
“To date, we have delivered on... Read More »
Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline dosed the first patient last week in a phase 2/3 study with its COVID-19 treatment.
The treatment, VIR-7831, is a fully human anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody, for the early treatment of COVID-19 in patients who are at high risk of hospitalization.... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) urged the Department of Defense (DoD) to adopt SHIELD T3, a system of COVID-19 testing and tracing developed by the University of Illinois.
SHIELD T3 provides rapid results in two to six hours at costs significantly below current alternatives. It could be used to... Read More »
Lockheed Martin has secured a contract with the U.S. Army to produce High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers and associated hardware, with delivery slated for the end of 2022.
HIMARS is a lightweight mobile launcher, transportable via C-130 and larger aircraft for rapid... Read More »
The Department of Defense has named Victoria Coleman as director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Coleman’s career spans over 30 years in academia, the private sector, and government. She previously served as DARPA’s Microsystems Exploratory Council founding chair... Read More »
A partnership between the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and NOWDiagnostics, Inc. will produce a rapid, point of care, in vitro diagnostic test for COVID-19 known as ADEXUSDx.
Based on the similarly named ADEXUSDx platform, the test proposes rapid detection of... Read More »
The United Kingdom-based biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca launched phase 3 testing of its potential COVID-19 vaccine -- AZD1222 -- in the United States this week, with plans to enroll as many as 30,000 adult volunteers across 80 testing sites.
AZD1222 was originally developed by Oxford... Read More »
Coast Guard officials said the service branch has halted at least five illegal charter voyages discovered across the Mid-Atlantic since July.
“The recent increase of illegal charters in the Maryland National Capital Region is a serious issue. Illegal charters pose a significant hazard to life,... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced a measure they said is designed to hold foreign nations accountable for suppressing or distorting information concerning international public health crises.
Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) joined Reps. John Curtis (R-UT), Mike Gallagher... Read More »
Seeking to advance explosive detection equipment, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded $1 million to Synthetik Applied Technologies last week to help it develop machine learning training data for airport security.
Such data simulates human travelers and baggage object models to... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the drug Veklury (remdesivir) to allow its use on all hospitalized patients with suspected or lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Its use was formerly restricted by severity, but those... Read More »
Chemists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will spend the next month and a half preparing for an exam that will certify the laboratory to test for chemical weapons, a task it has been certified to do since 2003.
Taken in October by chemists a part of the laboratory’s... Read More »
Federal authorities are issuing an alert about an automated teller machine (ATM) cash-out scheme by North Korean government cyber actors.
This scheme is referred to as “FASTCash 2.0: North Korea's BeagleBoyz Robbing Banks.” The alert – issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure... Read More »
A group of Democratic senators will introduce a bill to restore full federal funding for the National Guard so it can respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Aug. 3, President Donald Trump signed a memo terminating the 100 percent federal cost share with the National Guard that had been in effect... Read More »
Coast Guard officials said crews recently executed narcotics seizures in international waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Sea.
The Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton crew offloaded approximately 11,500 pounds of cocaine and... Read More »
Deltares USA and Deltares have secured $950,000 in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) funds to develop a flood hazard modeling process.
The endeavor, which officials said would utilize open source data, models, and software, is in accordance with the... Read More »
In response to reports that rising COVID-19 cases in July strained lab capacity and caused a decline in daily tests, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tina Smith (D-MN) wrote letters to several COVID-19 testing labs requesting information on the processing capacity for each.
June and July... Read More »
Seeking greater investigations into how and where viruses and other pathogens can crossover from wildlife to people, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) officially created the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID) this week through an initial 11... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) are urging the Food and Drug Administration to make sure that rigorous safety and efficacy data support the approval of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Full licensure of a vaccine is preferable to an Emergency Use... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) introduced legislation to strengthen the ability of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to address cyberthreats on Federal government systems.
The bill, called the Protecting Federal Networks Act, gives CISA the authority to address threats and... Read More »
Two Democratic legislators forwarded correspondence Tuesday to Attorney General William Barr and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin seeking insight regarding the recent seizure of cryptocurrency raised by designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) Emanuel... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has gained explosives trace detection technology via the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T).
The Next-Generation Mass Spectrometry Explosive Trace Detector or Next-Gen Mass Spec ETD was developed in... Read More »
Abbott gained emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week for a COVID-19 antigen test known as BinaxNOW, which proposes to test patients for $5, with a 15-minute turnaround on results.
Quick, portable, and affordable, Abbott intends for its tool to be... Read More »
