Countermeasures
Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) has introduced five bills to address the Chinese Communist Party's malign influence.
Officials said the legislation, previously introduced by Green in the 116th Congress, includes the Bring American Companies Home Act, the Our Money in China Transparency Act, the Secure... Read More »
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has unveiled CISA Global, the agency's initial international strategy.
Acting CISA Director Brandon Wales shared the initiative during the recent Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) amid a fireside chat with BCIU... Read More »
A public health emergency was declared in Texas this week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Acting Secretary Norris Cochran due to recent winter storms that left millions without power.
President Joe Biden had already declared an emergency in the state last week.... Read More »
With money appropriated by Congress last year, President Joe Biden pledged a total of $4 billion to the global COVAX initiative to get poorer nations access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The announcement, made during a virtual G7 Summit, also encouraged partners within that group of wealthy nations to... Read More »
Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have seized approximately 11 million counterfeit 3M N95 respirator masks in recent weeks.
The effort resulted from a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and manufacturer 3M.
“These seizures... Read More »
Federal authorities issued a cybersecurity warning about possible malicious activity by the North Korean government related to the “AppleJeus” malware.
The advisory was issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) personnel are touting Team Awareness Kit (TAK) utilization - a training tool aiding California firefighters in wildland response efforts.
The mobile application harnesses wildfire situational awareness data and DHS... Read More »
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers are working to determine if, after a terrorist bombing, the bomb maker can be identified by skin proteins left on bomb components.
As a means of conducting the research, personnel from LLNL's Weapons Complex Integration (WCI) and Global... Read More »
In tests conducted by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), a new screening technology from Smiths Detection broke new ground in efforts to find and contain COVID-19: the capability to detect the virus SARS-CoV-2 in the air.
The BioFlesh Biological... Read More »
Building off a 2020 research and development agreement for coronavirus therapies, GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. announced a binding agreement this week to expand that collaboration into new therapies for flu and other respiratory viruses.
The pair will work together on... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Defense awarded a $1.4 million grant to scientists at West Virginia University (WVU) to develop therapeutics to treat infections prone to antibiotic resistance.
Mariette Barbier of the WVU School of Medicine will lead the research effort. Barbier and her team will present... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Fred Upton (R-MI) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced a bill to require silent panic alarms in all schools to immediately alert law enforcement of an active shooter.
The bill is called the Alyssa’s Legacy Youth in School Safety Alert Act (the ALYSSA Act) -- named after Alyssa... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) officials are touting initiatives designed to ensure continued nationwide safety and security of mass transit.
DHS S&T has collaborated with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York City to examine... Read More »
Army officials said Lockheed Martin is slated to begin supporting formal integration and testing of the branch's combat vehicle protection system to keep soldiers safer and more secure from threats.
Lockheed Martin would provide its Modular Active Protection System (MAPS) base kit, which... Read More »
Following the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use listing of the AstraZeneca/University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine this week, the COVAX initiative announced it intends the bulk of the first deliveries to occur in March.
COVAX is finalizing the first and second quarter allocations of... Read More »
A new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security addresses the status of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, sequencing, and the three emerging variant strains, establishing four policy recommendations to identify and manage them.
“Staying Ahead of the Variants: Policy Recommendations to... Read More »
Leading health and public health organizations in the United States are seeking $4.5 billion in additional annual funding for states, localities, tribes, and territories to support public health infrastructure and workforce.
Representatives from 316 organizations sent a letter to Congressional... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is urging the Secretary of Defense to review the modular pressure mobile containment systems that can offer a Military Treatment Facility (MTF) or hospital the capability to treat patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
In a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin,... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel said on Feb. 19 that the agency would begin the initial phase of a program designed to restore safe and orderly southwest border processing.
Authorities indicated DHS would begin processing those who had been forced to remain in Mexico under... Read More »
A joint document recently released by the Nuclear Innovation Alliance (NIA) and Partnership for Global Security (PGS) defines a comprehensive domestic strategy to advance nuclear power development.
“Clean energy technologies, including advanced nuclear energy, are essential to meet mid-century... Read More »
Another four COVID-19 therapeutics for those with mild to moderate symptoms moved further up the pipeline this week, with the announcement of enrollment for Phase 2/3 testing in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) ACTIV-2 trial.
ACTIV, or the Accelerating COVID-19... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) formally approved emergency authorization for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, allowing two versions of it to be distributed through the global COVAX program.
AstraZeneca-SKBio is producing the two vaccines in the Republic of Korea and the Serum Institute of... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and David McKinley (R-WV) introduced a bill to address shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing supplies.
The Protecting Providers Everywhere (PPE) in America Act would boost domestic PPE and testing supply production. It would also promote a... Read More »
Republican members of the House Committee on Homeland Security are urging Biden administration officials not to roll back border security or immigration enforcement policies.
In a letter to President Biden, the committee members warn of a surge in encounters at the border at a time when U.S.... Read More »
BAE Systems has been awarded a $184 million contract option via the Marine Corps, covering production, fielding, and support costs for the Amphibious Combat Vehicles personnel carrier (ACV-P) variant.
The firm was awarded the initial full-rate production contract option in December for the... Read More »
U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials said a recently launched digital resource center seeks to aid business leaders and associations in wholly navigating varied COVID-19 vaccine questions.
Authorities noted the COVID-19 Vaccines Digital Resource Center contains state-specific information, guidance... Read More »
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security introduced a new website last week known as the COVID-19 Testing Toolkit to provide essential information on available tests, testing services, how they work, and how accurate they are for any interested organizations.
“For a lot of organizations,... Read More »
The United States Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) will purchase another 100 million doses each of the COVID-19 vaccines offered by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc. by the end of July.
President Joe Biden announced the deals last week, in a speech delivered at the... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. on Friday announced a new contract development and manufacturing company (CDMO) agreement with Canadian-based Providence Therapeutics, which is producing a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine similar to the Moderna Inc. and Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus shots already being... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN) is working to establish a Cybersecurity Training Center in Indiana.
Pence met with Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Dale Lyles to discuss the idea of establishing a training center at Camp Atterbury and the Muscatatuck Urban Training Complex (MUTC) operated by the... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced legislation to address shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing supplies.
The Protecting Providers Everywhere (PPE) in America Act would boost domestic PPE and testing supply production. It would also... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency's (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office (TTO) has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a contract to develop an advanced technology weapon concept.
The effort would increase the engagement range and weapon effectiveness of domestic forces against... Read More »
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) reintroduced Wednesday the Set Testing and Objectives Plan (STOP) COVID-19 Act, which he said would address state COVID-19 vaccine distribution, reporting, and transparency standards.
The bill would also create a program for cities and counties to increase testing, contact... Read More »
New legislation from U.S. Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) attempts to guarantee maximized use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) during emergency response and to increase domestic production of critical medical supplies.
The Public Health Emergency (PHE) Production Act,... Read More »
Through a letter of intent released this week, AstraZeneca and IDT Biologika pledged to increase COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing in Europe and guarantee long-term supply capacity.
While the details are still up in the air, both companies also intend to invest in drug substance capacity.... Read More »
