Countermeasures
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) initiated a partnership with digital health developer Empatica last week that focuses on developing a wearable system and algorithm that can detect early signs of COVID-19 infection in individuals.
That system, known as Aura,... Read More »
Researchers at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) have developed a way for people to decontaminate personal protective equipment (PPE) at home.
DHS’s S&T researchers have found that programmable multicookers can be used to decontaminate masks,... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) introduced two bills designed to protect and strengthen military bases from threats related to climate change and energy dependency.
One of the bills is the DOD Water Assessment and Testing Enhanced Reporting (WATER) Act, introduced by Crow, along with Reps. Xochitl... Read More »
Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) recently announced plans to introduce legislation designed to aid in retaining top talent by providing a pathway to an immigrant visa for non-citizens engaged in national security protection.
The National Security Innovation Pathway Act seeks... Read More »
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DOD) officials said the agencies have partnered to expedite vial manufacturing capacity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through Operation Warp Speed, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under the... Read More »
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) last week that called for efforts by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to guarantee it has enough responders for emergencies and can evaluate training properly, a call echoed... Read More »
The lack of a cohesive national plan for dealing with COVID-19 was once more brought to the fore last week with the release of a report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, which laid out a series of recommendations surrounding antibody studies.
These antibody studies --... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL) introduced legislation to combat the threat of disinformation during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increased use of deepfakes, manipulated media, and online bots to spread disinformation has become an emerging homeland security threat. The Protecting... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions revealed this week plans to expand its viral vector and gene therapy capabilities.
The company announced it will invest $75 million in its Canton, Mass., facility, which is focused on the contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) of drug substances for live viral... Read More »
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) Board of Directors has approved more than $200 million for network upgrades that include 5G and on-demand coverage.
“These investments mark the next major step in our mission as we continue to evolve the FirstNet network based on public... Read More »
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is providing a team of Toledo, Ohio-based Battelle researchers with funding earmarked for wastewater virus research.
“This should give us a reflection of what’s going on in specific neighborhoods,” Battelle Principal Research Scientist Rachel Spurbeck,... Read More »
The Senate voted to support GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, this week through a resolution introduced by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Time Kaine (D-VA).
The resolution commends and reaffirms support for GAVI. It also puts the nation’s money where its mouth is, so to speak, pledging U.S.... Read More »
A pair of automated antibody tests created by Ortho Clinical Diagnostics to track down COVID-19 will be further developed thanks to a new partnership between the company and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The tests are known as VITROS Anti-SARS-COV-2 Total... Read More »
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper released the national Defense Space Strategy this week, which identifies how the Department of Defense will advance the nation’s space power.
Esper’s plan includes three objectives; maintain space superiority; provide space support to national, joint, and... Read More »
A group of Republican senators introduced a police reform bill that focuses on accountability and transparency while promoting efforts to find solutions to systemic issues affecting people of color.
The Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act is sponsored... Read More »
The U.S. government has reached agreements with both Canada and Mexico to limit all non-essential travel across borders to limit the further spread of coronavirus.
The Department of Homeland Security is a crucial part of this North American approach to stop the spread of the virus, as will the... Read More »
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is calling for a renewed commitment to fighting COVID-19, urging Americans to protect each other.
“We formed the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense six years ago because we suspected and subsequently confirmed that our Nation was vulnerable to biological... Read More »
West Virginia law enforcement and first responder personnel will receive $439,858 in Department of Justice (DOJ) funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) said the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental... Read More »
Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), co-founders of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus, have introduced legislation designed to bolster the Department of Defense’s (DoD) artificial intelligence (AI) capacity by increasing the department’s cyber professionals.
The ... Read More »
In exchange for rapidly testing drugs for potential repurposing as COVID-19 treatments, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers will receive up to $3.6 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) over the next year.
All of the drugs to be tested are... Read More »
Results from a University of Oxford study found that the low-cost, low-dose steroid dexamethasone was revealed this week to have reduced COVID-19 deaths by up to one third in patients hospitalized with the disease.
This is the first time a therapy has demonstrated any ability to improve survival... Read More »
Tamr Government Solutions, based in Cambridge, Mass., has received the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) inaugural Phase 5 award to develop an international traveler screening solution.
The $813,000 funding allotment via the Silicon Valley... Read More »
Raytheon Missiles & Defense personnel are espousing the benefits of the successful initial guided release of a StormBreaker smart weapon from an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
"StormBreaker is the only weapon that enables pilots to hit moving targets during bad weather or if dust and smoke are in the... Read More »
Pharmaceutical company SIGA Technologies, Inc. gained a boost to its work toward a label expansion for TPOXX, an antiviral drug for treating smallpox caused by variola virus, thanks to an increase in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) this week.
With the addition, DoD is now... Read More »
Biotechnology company Regeneron has begun clinical trials of its REGN-COV2 cocktail, a two-antibody therapeutic for COVID-19, with recent funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The therapeutic proposes to inhibit SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes... Read More »
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has accelerated the initiation of the Phase 1/2a first-in-human clinical trial of its investigational COVID-19 vaccine.
The trial is expected to commence in the second half of July, moved up from its initial September time frame.... Read More »
Gary Ludwig, president and chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), testified before Congress in June on the need for more federal support local fire and EMS departments.
Ludwig, appearing before the House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,... Read More »
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced last week two bills, the Continuity of Economy Act of 2020 and the National Guard Cyber Interoperability Act of 2020, designed to address the nation’s cybersecurity defense vulnerabilities.
Peters, ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental... Read More »
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) recently introduced a bill he said is designed to support and strengthen programs essential to the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) mission while maintaining maritime industry viability.
Wicker said the Maritime Administration (MARAD) Reauthorization Act would... Read More »
Under the terms of a new contract, Bavarian Nordic will manufacture and deliver additional cases of the MVA-BN Filo vaccine in bulk to Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V., building its supply of Ebola vaccines.
The deal, valued $13.9 million, will kick off this year and build on the more than 2... Read More »
Showcasing how much more has been learned about COVID-19 since its discovery, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) added an online calculator last week that estimates the natural decay of SARS-CoV-2 in the air.
SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is... Read More »
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, introduced a new initiative to enhance global preparedness for future pandemics like COVID-19.
The Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) seeks to establish a global network to help national... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working to develop new treatments to combat microbial infections.
Through its Harnessing Enzymatic Activity for Lifesaving Remedies (HEALR) program, DARPA seeks to use new tools and strategies to treat microbial infections. Specifically,... Read More »
Arguing the potential benefits no longer outweigh the health risks involved, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday revoked its Emergency Use Authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to be used as a treatment for patients with COVID-19.
“We’ve made clear throughout... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Snapdragon Chemistry are teaming up to develop a continuous manufacturing platform to produce a specific raw material for COVID-19 vaccines.
They are developing ribonucleotide triphosphates (NTPs), a critical raw material for... Read More »
