Countermeasures
Rapid manufacturing and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine will rank as one of the most challenging U.S. government initiatives ever undertaken, though it can successfully happen with aggressive planning, management, and funding, concludes a newly released report that includes a powerful indictment... Read More »
A study by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) examined the effectiveness of government travel bans in Europe on slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The study found that international flight connections played a particularly important role in the early stages of the... Read More »
A team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has found a Zika virus mutation that may be responsible for the outbreak that occurred in 2015 and 2016.
Mosquitoes primarily transmit the Zika virus. Because it circulates between mosquitoes and animals/humans, they are prone to... Read More »
The U.S. Department of the Air Force and Department of Defense are hosting a virtual event for cybersecurity professionals on securing space systems.
The Space Security Challenge 2020, which will run Aug. 7-9, features a mixture of virtual workshops and prize challenges along with a live... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) awarded Johns Hopkins researchers $35 million for clinical trials to test a convalescent blood plasma outpatient treatment to fight COVID-19.
The treatment... Read More »
Inovio, a biotechnology company, revealed that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, INO-4800, was effective in protecting non-human primates, specifically rhesus macaques, from the virus 13 weeks after the last vaccination.
These results demonstrate that vaccine candidates reduced viral load in... Read More »
Findings from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis requested by a pair of lawmakers determined nuclear weapons modernization costs will be larger than estimated unless programs are scaled or scrapped.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) requested the GAO... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has initiated new technology at John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia Airports capable of validating traveler identification and confirming flight information in near real-time.
The TSA said JFK International Airport has 22 credential... Read More »
In a $1.3 trillion government funding bill advanced by the House last week, pandemic preparedness remained front and center, with several provisions incorporated to demand adequate stocking of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and regular reports on that stockpile.
The provisions were... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced last week that it will award $248.7 million worth of contracts to seven biomedical diagnostic companies for new COVID-19 tests capable of increasing the number, type, and availability of tests by millions per week in short order.
With the need... Read More »
Recognizing the threat of both natural and terrorist-directed anthrax, the U.S. Coast Guard recently undertook its first decontamination field test to determine the best method of decontaminating facilities and vessels exposed to the deadly disease.
This was facilitated by the Analysis for... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has reached an agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to procure Ebola virus treatment as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) effort to prepare for public health emergencies.
The treatment, known as... Read More »
First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) officials said the high-speed broadband communications platform dedicated to and purpose built for America’s first responders is expanding across New York state.
Officials are espousing the benefits of adding 22 new FirstNet cell sites and other... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently hosted the third Tabletop the Vote initiative, which officials said serves as a test of Election Day response plans.
The exercise executed July 28 to 30 included 37 states and approximately 2,100 total participants, officials... Read More »
Under an agreement reached with global biopharmaceutical companies Sanofi and GSK, the U.S. government will pay as much as $2.1 billion for development and delivery of 100 million doses of a vaccine to combat COVID-19.
It’s the largest agreement yet negotiated by Operation Warp Speed and it... Read More »
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a bill this week that would authorize U.S. participation in the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a public-private partnership developing vaccines for coronavirus and other infectious pathogens.
The legislation, the Securing... Read More »
In pre-clinical data recently published in Nature, Johnson & Johnson’s lead vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, provoked strong antibody responses in non-human primates, subsequently blocking infection of their lungs.
“We are excited to see these pre-clinical... Read More »
As COVID-19 caused deaths in the United States have crossed 150,000, the Center for Health Security has released a report noting policy actions and data reporting needed at all levels of government to effectively turn the tide against the pandemic.
“Unlike many countries in the world, the... Read More »
A pair of lawmakers recently released a requested Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis regarding potential national security threats resulting from climate change impacts.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Jack Reed (D-RI) sought to examine climate change impact on defense contractors... Read More »
The Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are working together to share health data as well as research and expertise to aid in the fight against COVID-19.
The initiative between these three government agencies is... Read More »
A COVID-19 vaccine candidate -- mRNA-1273 -- produced by Moderna, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) brought broad immune responses and protection to the upper and lower airways of nonhuman primates, NIAID scientists reported this week.
After two doses of... Read More »
A proposed COVID-19 appropriations bill released on Monday by U.S. Senate Republicans takes solid steps toward providing urgently needed relief and resources, but it also falls short of necessary responses, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine... Read More »
Following review of pre-clinical and phase 1/2 clinical trial data, Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have selected a single mRNA vaccine candidate from the BNT162 program for use against SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- in a global phase 2/3 safety and efficacy trial.
Investigators... Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) officials said the agency has expanded its COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity via the Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing (CIADM).
The Texas A&M University System venue’s $265 million task order falls under an... Read More »
At sites across the United States, a phase 3 trial of the investigational vaccine mRNA-1273, jointly developed by Moderna, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is set to enroll 30,000 volunteers for testing.
Anyone 18 years of age and older, who does not... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) personnel said the agency is seeking global proposals addressing pandemic response, as well as current and future needs.
The Emerging Needs: Covid-19 Response & Future Mitigation topic call was introduced via the... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. signed an agreement with AstraZeneca to provide contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services for large-scale manufacturing of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The $174 million deal runs through 2021. It follows an $87 million contract in June for... Read More »
A LabCorp COVID-19 diagnostic test became the first of its kind to gain a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization (EUA) last week, for its potential to diagnose COVID-19 infections in those without symptoms.
An EUA was also granted to allow its use in pooled... Read More »
A group of lawmakers are espousing the benefits of extending the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program for three years, noting the action secures chemical facilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI), James Lankford (R-OK), Tom Carper (D-DE) and other... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials recently conducted its initial China Working Group session as a means of addressing response to evolving threats posed by China.
“The Chinese threat is intensifying at an alarming rate through CCP’s malign activity in the trade, cybersecurity,... Read More »
The investment to prevent the spread of infectious disease are well worth it compared to the costs associated with these outbreaks, a new analysis by published in Science by the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance proclaims.
While zoonotic disease outbreaks like the one that caused the COVID-19... Read More »
Hologic will expand production of its custom sample collection and processing consumables used for COVID-19 tests as part of a $7.6 million investment from the United States Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD).
The contract is "undefinitized," meaning its terms and... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Department of Defense (DoD) a recommendation regarding its annual Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) flight test plan.
The GAO said the DOD’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Director should ensure an independent assessment of the... Read More »
The United States Department of Defense (DoD) awarded a $4.9 million contact to the Pall Corp. last week for efforts to expand the domestic industrial base capacity for medical ventilator filters.
The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare a critical need for ventilators in the U.S., but over the... Read More »
A group of lawmakers are espousing the benefits of the Senate’s recent passage of a FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) amendment designed to bolster cybersecurity.
Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Gary Peters (D-MI) said the amendment... Read More »
