Countermeasures
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. said on Thursday it will provide contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services to support Johnson & Johnson’s efforts to develop a vaccine candidate for COVID-19.
The vaccine candidate leverages the AdVac and PER.C6 technologies from the Janssen... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently called on President Donald Trump to address what they see as his administration’s mismanagement of the Strategic National Stockpile.
The senators want to know why states were left without the federal assistance and supplies to combat the coronavirus pandemic.... Read More »
New York State and Bloomberg Philanthropies are working together on a contact tracing initiative to control the infection rate of COVID-19.
Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded by Mike Bloomberg, has committed $10.5 million, along with organizational support and technical assistance, to build out... Read More »
House Energy and Commerce Committee members recently met with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn to discuss the ongoing COVID-19 response.
“Energy and Commerce Committee members held a productive discussion with Commissioner Hahn,” Committee Chairman Frank Pallone,... Read More »
Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tom Carper (D-DE) led 14 bipartisan colleagues in forwarding correspondence to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), urging the agency to expand its existing COVID-19 tracking framework.
The legislators are encouraging the CDC to determine and log... Read More »
In a new report titled Developing a National Strategy for Serology in the United States, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security argued for the creation of a national antibody testing strategy in the United States to counteract the spread of COVID-19.
One of the major problems for the U.S.... Read More »
Under legislation introduced by a collection of nine Democratic senators this week, AmeriCorps would take on more Americans and offer greater compensation, as part of a three-year response and recovery period linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pandemic Response and Opportunity Through National... Read More »
The spread of coronavirus in the United States has unveiled various levels of inequalities in society, including between major cities with more robust hospital systems and rural communities with less access to resources.
The COVID-19: A Frontline Guide for Local Decision-Makers, a global... Read More »
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan that will produce bridge ventilators to support local hospitals and health care workers.
Through this effort, local manufacturers will produce at least 3,000 bridge ventilators, which will be deployed to hospitals in the fight against... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is awarding $10 million to help communities combat terrorism and targeted violence across the country.
The funding comes from money appropriated by Congress for the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program.
“Attacks by... Read More »
The Department of the Air Force rapidly executed three Department of Defense (DoD) contracts worth $133 million with 3M, Honeywell, and O&M Halyard to increase N95 mask production under the Defense Production Act Title 3.
“As the Department of Defense’s Executive Agent for the Defense... Read More »
Department of Defense (DoD) officials said the agency has earmarked funds for three companies to increase domestic N95 mask production by over 39 million over the next 90 days.
DoD Spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews said the DoD would invest $133 million toward the effort. The contracts have been... Read More »
Despite high scores on the Global Health Security (GHS) index, the United States has fundamentally weak health security, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) warns, and its struggle with COVID-19 has emphasized its inadequate ability to deal with a pandemic.
COVID-19 has spawned more than... Read More »
Though 72 potential vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 are currently under development, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its federal health partners note that urgency for additional products remains, and to jumpstart possibilities, they have launched a new Coronavirus Treatment... Read More »
Pharmaceutical firm Roche said it has developed and would soon launch its test detecting antibodies in people exposed to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19.
The Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 serology test can support priority screening of high-risk... Read More »
Department of Justice officials recently forwarded a Business Review Letter to AmerisourceBergen, notifying the firm there would be no challenge to efforts to aid COVID-19 treatment efforts.
“We commend AmerisourceBergen’s efforts to assist the United States in responding to the COVID-19... Read More »
Newly developed COVID-19 testing options were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week, with the granting of emergency use authorization (EUA) for an at-home test.
It marks the first at-home iteration of tests for the disease, which has infected more than 788,000 in the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Tangen Biosciences, Inc. are teaming up to develop a rapid diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2, capable of producing results within an hour.
The test will be paired with the Tangen GeneSpark, a molecular diagnostic system, and... Read More »
Novartis is proceeding with a Phase III clinical trial to evaluate the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 disease.
The company got the go-ahead from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The trial will involve approximately 440 patients and be conducted at... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) is calling on the Trump Administration to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 testing strategy as part of its efforts to reopen the economy.
Pallone, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is concerned that the Trump Administration appears to be abandoning... Read More »
Legislation introduced in the U.S. House seeks to ensure greater accountability in the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other emergency resources under the Defense Protection Act and Stafford Act.
Specifically, the bill -- the Emergency Supply Chain Transparency Act --... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) introduced a bill to shore up the medical supplies in the Strategic National Stockpile.
Their bill, the Medical Supplies for Pandemics Act of 2020, would strengthen the Strategic National Stockpile by enhancing medical supply chain... Read More »
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers said they have developed a tool designed to aid hospitals and medical professionals in disinfecting N95 masks.
In the wake of hospitals nationwide disinfecting N95 masks by placing them in repurposed rooms or shipping containers... Read More »
Animal testing of the Gilead Sciences Inc.-created antiviral Remdesivir showed promise against rhesus macaques infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists said.
This study was led by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and... Read More »
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) recently led a bipartisan group of colleagues in urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address fire department and emergency medical service (EMS) equipment shortages under the Coronavirus Relief, Aid and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Sen. Jon Tester... Read More »
A universal Ebola vaccine may fight all four virus species that infect humans, according to preclinical tests of a new treatment at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Data published in the Journal of Virology shows the virus could work as a stand-alone protection, but may also... Read More »
In a teleconference between experts from the Immunization Action Coalition, FasterCures and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday, one thing was made abundantly clear: the world needs the best possible vaccines to combat COVID-19 as quickly as possible.
In the opinion of Dr.... Read More »
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker filed a bill to help the state combat mosquito-borne diseases like Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and the West Nile Virus (WNV).
The legislation -- An Act to Mitigate Arbovirus in the Commonwealth – would empower the State Reclamation and Mosquito Control... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority (BARDA) is working with Hememics Biotechnologies to develop a rapid antigen and antibody test to identify the COVID-19 coronavirus in 60 seconds.
The test will be designed to detect the SARS-CoV-2 antigen, which causes COVID-19, from nasal... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a recent collaboration including U.S. Cotton, UnitedHealth Group, Quantigen, and the Gates Foundation has resulted in further COVID-19 testing option expansion.
Officials said the determination that spun synthetic swabs, with a design... Read More »
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has forwarded correspondence to President Donald Trump, encouraging efforts to provide COVID-19 patients the right to try hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the course of their diagnosis.
Johnson is seeking to have the president issue a directive to remove the Food and Drug... Read More »
Invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has entered a new, $336 million contract with General Electric (GE) that will see 50,000 ventilators supplied to the government by July 13.
"The President promised on March 27 that we would have 100,000... Read More »
Moderna is working toward U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensure on an mRNA vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 -- with a $483 million award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
“Vaccines are a critical tool for saving lives... Read More »
Congressional legislators on Friday introduced two bipartisan bills in the U.S. House of Representatives to bolster the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the nation’s repository of antibiotics, vaccines and other critical medical supplies that has been strained by the current coronavirus... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is partnering with the American Red Cross (ARC) to recruit blood donors who have recovered from COVID-19.
BARDA and the ARC are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect convalescent plasma for use as a... Read More »
