Countermeasures
A new policy issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week means to expedite U.S. diagnostic capabilities related to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, by allowing specific labs to immediately utilize related tests they have developed and validated.
This builds on an Emergency... Read More »
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), and Raul Ruiz (D-CA) have been selected to head up the new Bipartisan Congressional Coronavirus Task Force.
The task force will marshal the experience and expertise of Congress members and committee leaders to develop an action plan for... Read More »
While raising the global risk surrounding the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, to very high, the World Health Organization (WHO) this week released $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) as a means of shoring up defenses in more vulnerable nations.
“We do not yet see evidence... Read More »
The U.S. Senate recently passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, a bipartisan House bill that would secure America’s telecommunications supply chain.
The bill was introduced by Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Greg Walden... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) are asking the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine if the nuclear modernization activities by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) are sustainable and affordable.
The GAO issued a report in 2017 recommending... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking proposals from technology companies to develop a system to mark and track objects in the water more clearly.
The solicitation – called the Maritime Object Tracking Technology initiative – was posted this week by the DHS Science and... Read More »
The House Appropriations Committee took testimony from Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan this week, regarding the CBP’s portion of the Trump administration’s proposed FY 2021 budget.
For CBP, that portion amounts to a more than $18.2 billion budget... Read More »
The new open access journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the JACEP Open, is kicking things off with dual analyses of COVID-19 -- both its transmission risk factors and the public health concerns such outbreaks spur.
To date, notes the article Novel Coronavirus 2019:... Read More »
Raytheon Company is teaming up with IronNet Cybersecurity to develop cyber solutions for the defense of operational and information technology (OT/IT) systems.
These solutions would integrate security services with advanced analysis and threat sharing tools through IronNet's collective defense... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate that would reverse the Department of Defense’s recent transfer of $3.8 billion to be used to a border wall.
Further, the Restoring Military Priorities Act of 2020 would reduce the transfer authority of the DoD to prevent President Trump from diverting... Read More »
The U.S. Marine Corps recently awarded BAE Systems a $113.5 million contract for 26 additional Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV) under the Low-Rate Initial Production phase of the program.
BAE Systems and Iveco Defence Vehicles are replacing the corps’ Assault Amphibious Vehicles with ACV, a... Read More »
An apparent bottleneck has emerged in U.S. capabilities to test for the novel coronavirus, with the much-awaited release of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) test kit scrapped this week after performance issues emerged.
While this has not hindered the CDC’s testing... Read More »
Under the newly launched Technology Accelerator Challenge, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is offering $1 million for those capable of designing and developing handheld, digital technologies capable of detecting and diagnosing high impact diseases.
Bolstered by support from the Bill &... Read More »
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, charged Wednesday night with leading the federal government’s response to the coronavirus epidemic, has named a top AIDS expert to coordinate the response and clamped down on future outgoing coronavirus messaging by government health officials and... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) recently adopted ethical principles for the use of artificial intelligence (AI), which will apply to both combat and noncombat functions.
The principles were based on Defense Innovation Board recommendations. The board consulted with AI experts and... Read More »
Harvard University scientists will work with researchers from China to develop coronavirus therapies and treatments designed to prevent new infections and alleviate existing ones.
The effort will be led by Harvard Medical School Dean George Q. Daley, working with colleagues from the Harvard T.H.... Read More »
The co-chairs of the House Global Health Caucus introduced a resolution in support of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI).
GAVI is dedicated to saving the lives of children in the world’s poorest countries by improving access to new and underutilized vaccines. Since... Read More »
Following the Trump administration’s request for $2.5 billion to address the growing novel coronavirus outbreak, Democratic U.S. Senators this week urged that appropriate resources be put in place to guarantee an effective response.
“The highly contagious and rapidly spreading Coronavirus... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has begun a clinical trial of experimental drug remdesivir in Nebraska, to see its potential abilities to treat the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
“We urgently need a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19. Although remdesivir... Read More »
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is urging the Trump Administration and Congress to approve emergency supplemental funding for local health departments to respond to the coronavirus.
“Our nation has taken strong steps to help address the spread of... Read More »
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is seeking answers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on how it will mitigate potential drug and medical device shortages.
The inquiry follows a recent report that the recent outbreak of novel coronavirus has threatened the domestic supply of some 150... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program remains open for applications until March 13 at 5:00 p.m. EST.
U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) is a strong proponent of the program and urges constituents to take advantage of it.
“Our fire... Read More »
The National Governors Association (NGA) became the most recent organization to oppose a nearly $1.7 billion cut from the National Guard and Reserve.
The cut is part of a Trump administration proposal that would divert $3.8 billion in funding to the U.S.-Mexico wall border.
The budget cuts... Read More »
One of the greatest concerns pushed by U.S. lawmakers since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus -- COVID-19 -- has been the potential impacts on products coming from China, but this week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) insisted its inspections have not been hindered, nor has the virus... Read More »
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday night sent Congress a total $2.5 billion emergency supplemental spending request to fight the coronavirus outbreak, which top U.S. government officials warned will inevitably spread across the nation.
“The administration believes... Read More »
Three Republican senators recently sent a letter to Chad F. Wolf, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), wanting to know how a former al-Qaeda leader in Iraq was allowed to emigrate to the United States as a refugee and become a citizen.
The Department of Justice... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials is providing state governors with increased flexibility regarding electronic submission of required documents for REAL ID applications.
Specifically, DHS said states may now add identity and lawful status source documents, through a secure... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Judy Chu (D-CA) are seeking information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on reports that Chinese-American scientists are being targeted as potential spies.
A recent article in The New York Times reported... Read More »
While the weekend sent global fears of a COVID-19 pandemic spiking, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) Director Rick Bright touted the speed at which public-private partnerships have acted on medical countermeasures.
BARDA has expanded agreements with three companies... Read More »
In three weeks, researchers at Australia’s University of Queensland have produced a vaccine candidate for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and have moved it to further development.
Part of the larger Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) rapid response program, the effort has... Read More »
In an effort to push forward research that could yield a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, the Tulane Primate Research Center (TNPRC) announced plans to develop a nonhuman primate model focused on the disease’s clinical progression, transmission, and effects on aging populations.
The... Read More »
The Jack Ma Foundation recently awarded four research teams at Columbia University $2.1 million for their efforts to identify potential antiviral drugs and antibiotics for use against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
The Chinese-based foundation awarded the funds to Columbia with the... Read More »
Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, recently gave his annual State of the Coast Guard Address in Charleston, S.C., highlighting the guard’s plans and accomplishments.
During the speech, Schultz outlined plans to expand the Coast Guard’s footprint in the Charleston area. ... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week that would create a permanent fund to respond more quickly to public health emergencies.
The Public Health Emergency Response and Accountability Act (S. 3309) would provide automatic funding for the existing Public Health Emergency Fund based... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Jerry McNerney (D-CA) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to improve network resiliency in times of emergency.
The Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure, and Emergency Notification for Today’s Networks Act (H.R.... Read More »
