Countermeasures
Results came in this week from a Phase 2/3 trial of Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment, and the data showed a drug capable of cutting risks of hospitalization or death by 89 percent among high-risk adults, when given within a few days of their first symptoms.
The final data from... Read More »
Seeking broader protection against SARS-CoV-2 variants and other betacoronaviruses, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced this week that it would invest up to $4.5 million into development of a vaccine candidate based on Affinivax, Inc.’s Multiple Antigen Presenting... Read More »
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have launched the Hypersonics Caucus to promote hypersonic weapons utilization in accordance with national security strategy initiatives.
Reps. Mo Brooks (R-AL) and Jim Banks (R-IN) spearheaded the effort.
“Russia and China have spent the past two... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), along with U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), applauded the inclusion of their Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP) amendment in the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.
The congressmembers said because UAPs appear in sensitive... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) urged the U.S. Department of Defense to address the DOD’s overreliance on pharmaceuticals produced abroad in a letter on Friday.
The letter, to Gregory Kausner, acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said... Read More »
Republicans members of the House American Security Task Force recently hosted a cybersecurity roundtable session with industry leaders.
Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Tony Gonzales (R-TX) spearheaded the effort, which focused on the present state of the nation's cybersecurity and what Congress can... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) officials said the agency is soliciting information regarding automatically activated body cameras.
Officials said a request for information (RFI) has been issued regarding the commercially available body cameras... Read More »
On Friday, Moderna, maker of one of the FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccines, announced it will amend its contract with Gavi, the vaccine alliance, to accelerate the supply of 20 million doses of the vaccine to COVAX by the end of the year.
The total number of vaccines supplied to COVAX in 2021 now... Read More »
An investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Washington D.C. Field Office and Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office has led to the seizure of Iranian arms from vessels in the Arabian Sea.... Read More »
More than 100 COVID-19 experts called on Congressional leaders Thursday to pass bipartisan legislation to create a COVID-19 Commission.
The legislation, introduced by U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Richard Blumenthal... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently published a document identifying and addressing emerging threats and ensuring the efficient flow of commerce.
The document, the Air Cargo Security Roadmap, is the result of collaboration within the air cargo industry with stakeholders. It... Read More »
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing recently to examine the harmful impacts of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) at military sites.
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) convened the hearing after a Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector... Read More »
Pfizer and BioNTech officials recently provided an update regarding the Omicron variant, noting results of an initial laboratory study demonstrating serum antibodies via BNT162b2 neutralize the variant after three doses.
“Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this week an emergency use authorization (EUA) for AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, authorizing the use of monoclonal antibodies to reduce specific COVID-19 risk.
Evusheld is tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab and administered together to... Read More »
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense announced launched a public awareness campaign Wednesday to support the Apollo Program for Biodefense, a project that aims to eliminate pandemics in ten years and reduce other biological threats.
The campaign, similar in scope and importance to landing... Read More »
A new report from the Nuclear Threat Initiative has found that nations around the world remain “dangerously unprepared” to meet future epidemic and pandemic threats,
The report – the 2021 Global Health Security (GHS) Index -- measured the capacities of 195 countries to prepare for... Read More »
Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky division has received a Restricted Category Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its S-70M Black Hawk helicopter.
“With type certification, new production S-70M Black Hawk helicopters in the latest configuration are... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Tuesday that it has awarded $22 million to nearly 30 organizations across the globe to combat antimicrobial resistance (AR) and other healthcare threats.
The CDC also established two new networks – the Global Action in Healthcare... Read More »
Officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security met with leading technology and cybersecurity industry executives to discuss how the federal government and the private sector work together better to tackle key cybersecurity challenges.
The meeting was attended by Homeland Security... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the deadline for DHS Cooling Solutions Challenge submissions to Feb. 24, 2022.
Through the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), DHS is encouraging domestic innovators to develop... Read More »
Members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee expressed support for a proposed initiative that would create an international organization aimed at detecting and preventing new biological threats, either unintentionally developed or intentionally introduced by rogue actors, like terrorists or... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Scott Franklin (R-FL) and James Comer (R-KY) recently forwarded correspondence to the Justice Department, seeking an update regarding efforts to address COVID-19 relief benefits stolen by transnational and state-sponsored organizations.
The representatives cited a report that found... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has released a new Master Question List (MQL) for Synthetic Opioids.
The MQL serves as a reference guide as a means of aiding emergency responders and the research community by providing critical and vetted... Read More »
With a new disease variant come further questions of vaccine viability and new tests, and this week, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced an expansion of a vaccine agreement with Gritstone bio Inc. to test its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine against the Omicron variant.... Read More »
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced Monday it was creating a new whole-of-government effort, the Initiative for Global Vaccine Access (Global VAX), to accelerate efforts worldwide to provide COVID-19 shots and overcome access barriers to vaccines, with a priority on... Read More »
For a world where masks are among the new norms, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has launched the second phase of a $500,000 contest to develop creative, comfortable, and effective new mask designs for the public.
For this competition, BARDA is working with the... Read More »
Clinical stage biopharmaceutical company Heat Biologics, Inc. recently unveiled a new cellular vaccine platform that it says is designed to allow quicker manufacturing, greater stockpiling and customizability suited to combating a wide range of biological threats.
The emergence of the Omicron... Read More »
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently detailed a United States-Brazil collaboration that disrupted a major human trafficking operation.
ICE officials indicated a probe spearheaded by the agency's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in conjunction with the Department of... Read More »
According to a report released Friday by the White House, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is leading the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to combat human trafficking.
DHS helped the White House develop a whole-of-government National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking,... Read More »
The U.S. Marines, Navy, and Army will join Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) members for a bilateral training exercise in multiple training locations across Japan.
Resolute Dragon 2021 involves almost 2,650 Marines from across III MEF, representing all functions of the Fleet Marine Force.... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) reopened submissions for redeveloping therapeutics into medical countermeasures against chemical threats last week.
Of interest are therapeutics already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or those in... Read More »
Preliminary results from a Phase 2 mix and match trial of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 booster vaccine are in, and they determined that administered six months after a vaccination routine of BioNTech and Pfizer’s BNT162b2, both antibody and T-cell responses rise.
The independent study,... Read More »
As part of a trial co-funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. (MVC), researchers will mix and match COVID-19 boosters focusing on combinations of MVC’s vaccine candidate and others.
“As we strive to stay one step ahead of... Read More »
Last week, the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, approved an initial investment of $155.7 million to support the introduction, acquisition, and delivery of malaria vaccines throughout eligible nations in sub-Saharan Africa between 2022 and 2025.
The public-private health organization hopes... Read More »
A new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center makes recommendations on modernizing the U.S. public healthcare systems in light of the challenges the country has faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, Public health Forward: Modernizing the U.S. Public Health System, outlines critical... Read More »
