Countermeasures
U.S. Reps. John Katko (R-NY) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) recently issued a statement regarding the Biden Administration’s release of the Executive Order (EO), which the Administration said seeks to bolster national cybersecurity.
Katko, ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland... Read More »
In a public statement released last week, nine national organizations highlighted the pains COVID-19 inflicted upon the world in general and already historically marginalized populations in specific and pressed for strategies to improve crisis standards of care, along with equity.
“The... Read More »
As part of a World Health Organization (WHO) early access clinical program in Sierra Leone, up to 200,000 vaccine regimens from Johnson & Johnson will be distributed among children and adults.
Donated to the WHO for the program, the vaccine regimen already received prequalification from the WHO... Read More »
A new low-cost, rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 developed by Penn Medicine provides results within four minutes and is 90 percent accurate.
According to a paper published this week in Matter, the test – RAPID 1.0 (Real-time Accurate Portable Impedimetric Detection prototype 1.0) – is... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) reintroduced legislation this week to counter politically motivated abuse of INTERPOL by authoritarian regimes.
The Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention (TRAP) Act establishes domestic priorities for responding to INTERPOL... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) recently forwarded correspondence to President Joe Biden, seeking a review of the U.S. Space Command relocation decision process.
The senators are encouraging Biden to consider how the Trump Administration’s decision to relocate U.S.... Read More »
Senate legislation meant to provide resources and enhance coordination for major cyberattacks, such as the one recently experienced in the Colonial Pipeline attack, has unanimously advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The bill, which will now face the... Read More »
Seven U.S. representatives introduced the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act this week, which seeks to authorize a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant program to fund local and state cybersecurity efforts.
In all, the program would benefit from $500 million in funding to... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Steve Stivers (R-OH) joined Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) Tuesday to introduce legislation that would give greater protections to federally funded public service officers.
The Back the Blue Act creates new criminal provisions for killing,... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently initiated a new Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) to address domestic violent extremism.
DHS Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas stated that the initiative would enhance the agency's ability to combat... Read More »
The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee recently convened a hearing with senior federal cybersecurity personnel to examine present and future cybersecurity breaches.
The hearing was convened by Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs... Read More »
Following the recent ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline Company, U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) is urging the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for great investment into the Pipeline Security Initiative public-private partnership.
The Pipeline Cybersecurity Initiative... Read More »
Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and subcommittees wrote to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra this week urging a reversal of a Trump administration policy that stripped Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over COVID-19 lab-developed tests (LDTs).... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a multinational biopharmaceutical company, on Wednesday said it is on track to meet federal COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing standards and executives will testify during a congressional hearing next week on the company’s progress since a batch of the coronavirus vaccine... Read More »
The U.S. Army awarded this week Northrop Grumman Corporation a five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract valued at $959.1 million for full-rate production of the Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) system.
“CIRCM’s cutting-edge capability has been proven against... Read More »
Rep. John Katko (R-NY) led this week a group of House colleagues in encouraging the social media platform TikTok to address cartel activity amid an escalating crisis on the southwest border.
“We are deeply troubled by media reports that cartels are brazenly recruiting people to conduct... Read More »
Biotechnology company INOVIO revealed that the placebo-controlled and blinded phase two segment of a United States clinical vaccine trial has shown positive, safe, and well-tolerated results for INO-4800 when used against COVID-19.
As a result of the test results, a 2 mg dose will be used for... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is now authorized for emergency use among adolescents ages 12 through 15.
While children have seemingly been less susceptible to COVID-19 at large, they can still be carriers, and plenty have... Read More »
America’s historically underfunded public health system played a major role in the nation’s laggard COVID-19 response, according to a new report released by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).
And while it’s too soon to calculate with precision, it is likely that the United States... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced Friday it has awarded researchers at the University of Texas Medica Branch (UTMB) at Galveston $11.3 million to study Ebola.
The multiyear grant will fund research into the immunopathogenesis of Ebola, specifically why cells... Read More »
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) officials said a California man has been arrested on federal charges, alleging he fraudulently obtained approximately $5 million in Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans.
Authorities noted Mustafa Qadiri, 38, of Irvine, was named in a returned federal... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has exercised the final $12 million option to produce the remaining $202 million smallpox vaccine order.
The order would be supplied by JYNNEOS, encompassing the Smallpox and Monkeypox vaccine. The option covers the supply of... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Andy Kim (D-NJ) introduced legislation last week to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity by enabling governors to decide how the National Guard responds to cybersecurity threats.
The National Guard Cybersecurity Support Act would enhance states' readiness and... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Dynavax Technologies Corporation expanded the terms of a manufacturing agreement last week to include an additional $77 million for adjuvant used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The funding injection, provided in the form of a forgivable loan... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) added the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd. to the list of vaccines approved for emergency use worldwide last week, giving a potential new source and new boost for efforts by the COVAX... Read More »
A new report by the General Accountability Office (GAO) found that most of the U.S. nuclear triad is nearing or past their planned end-of-life dates and that the Departments of Defense and Energy must plan their replacements carefully.
The report found that most of the nuclear triad, three... Read More »
The Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus is encouraging Congress to fund Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill programming supporting nationwide enhanced wildfire preparedness, mitigation, and response.
U.S. Reps. John Curtis (R-UT) and Joe Neguse (D-CO) are leading Caucus members in urging the... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently requested that the Biden administration keep regulatory controls in place over three-dimensional (3-D) printable firearms and prevent online sales.
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) and Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) spearheaded the correspondence effort, which stems from a... Read More »
Bloomberg Philanthropies will award up to $50,000 each to 18 cities in low and middle-income countries that are part of the Partnership for Healthy Cities and planning vaccine distribution rollouts with high-risk populations emphasized.
Vaccine preparedness activities, including communication... Read More »
A new United States-based public-private partnership, the Global Task Force on Pandemic Response, announced last week that it will work with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-India Business Council and the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership to lend immediate aid to India’s COVID-19... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) joined other members of Congress to call on Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson to expand access to the COVID-19 vaccine globally.
In a letter sent on May 5, Merkley, along with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and... Read More »
The commercial-stage pharmaceutical company SIGA Technologies, Inc. has filed a New Drug Application (NDA) with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the intravenous formulation (IV) of TPOXX.
The proposed NDA to treat human smallpox disease in adults and pediatric patients is the same as... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) recently raised concerns regarding a rise in the number of assaults on federal law enforcement officers and government facilities.
The legislators forwarded correspondence this week to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary... Read More »
In an initial primary analysis of the Phase 2b trial of COVID-19 vaccine NVX-CoV-2373, a New England Journal of Medicine-published report revealed that the vaccine provided approximately 55 percent efficacy to non-HIV patients when pitted against the South African variant, B.1.351.
The Novavax,... Read More »
Moderna, Inc. reported initial data this week showing that in phase two testing, its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine proved effective and well-tolerated as a booster or a single 50 µg dose on the previously vaccinated, against both the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and two variants of concern.
In all, three... Read More »
