Countermeasures
U.S. Reps. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) and Jackie Speier (D-CA) are urging the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines to adopt new security clearance guidelines to prevent individuals involved in extremist groups from accessing classified information.
Specifically, Wexton and Speier are... Read More »
The U.S. Army announced that it will continue its relationship with Skydio, the leading U.S. drone manufacturer.
Specifically, the Army will continue with the Skydio X2D SRR system to complete the remaining integration and documentation requirements within the Other Transaction Agreement... Read More »
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has reopened the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) biometrics comment period.
“As a testament to CBP’s steadfast commitment to privacy principles and transparency, CBP reopened the comment... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mark R. Warner (D-VA) are requesting a leader be named in the U.S response to the SolarWinds cyber breach that impacted numerous federal agencies and thousands of private sector entities.
The senators forwarded correspondence to the Director of National... Read More »
A collection of four United States representatives reintroduced the Saracini Enhanced Aviation Safety Act this week in a bipartisan effort to require the installation of secondary cockpit barriers on passenger aircraft to prevent future events like those witnessed on Sept. 11, 2001.
The bill is... Read More »
Under a new emergency use authorization (EUA) issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the monoclonal antibodies bamlanivimab and etesevimab can be used together for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of COVID-19.
Specifically, they can be used by adults and pediatric... Read More »
Frustrated by ongoing cyber threats from the United States and abroad, members of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee said Wednesday they are developing new legislation that would expand the powers of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, currently an operational component... Read More »
Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb joined the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s (FSSA) Division of Mental Health and Addiction Monday to announce the state’s new plan to expand access to the opioid reversal agent naloxone.
Working with Overdose Lifeline, Inc., the state will... Read More »
U.S. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Joe Wilson (R-SC) introduced a bill that seeks to limit Iran’s influence in the Middle East.
The Iranian Arms Transfer Prevention Act of 2021 (H.R. 857) requires the United States to impose sanctions on individuals and entities involved in the transfer of conventional... Read More »
AppCensus, a start-up from El Cerrito, Calif., won a $198,600 award from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to develop testing and validation services for digital contact tracing applications.
The phase 1 award was made under S&T’s... Read More »
Lockheed Martin officials said the aerospace company has contracted with ABL Space Systems to supply a rocket and associated launch services for Lockheed Martin's first UK vertical satellite launch.
The UK Pathfinder Launch is slated to be the first vertical small satellite launch from UK soil... Read More »
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) has introduced a pair of bills designed to strengthen border security and protection.
“America is the most compassionate nation in the world, but our immigration system is broken," Johnson, who serves on the House Judiciary Committee, said. "Reforming that system is a... Read More »
Following preliminary data that showed the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine to have minimal effect in preventing mild to moderate cases of a South African variant, the global COVAX initiative has nevertheless stressed the need to assess its efficacy against more severe illness.
Preliminary... Read More »
The National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) this week began enrolling participants for an international phase three clinical trial of AZD7442, an antibody combination developed by AstraZeneca to treat those hospitalized with COVID-19.
The trial is part of ACTIV-3, a... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. on Monday hosted Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan at the multinational biopharmaceutical company’s East Baltimore, Md., Bayview facility where the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine candidate is being manufactured.
Emergent’s Bayview facility, which is designated by... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has set aside approximately $1.98 billion to states, tribes, territories as well as Washington D.C., for community vaccination centers.
Currently, there are 175 federally supported vaccine centers operational across the country. The federal... Read More »
The former Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Clinton administration, Donna Shalala, has been appointed to the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense.
Shalala had been a founding member of the commission, established in 2014. She left two years ago to serve in the Congress from Florida... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials said the organization has executed contract options to continue the Manta Ray project, which seeks to demonstrate technologies toward unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV).
“Manta Ray performers have each taken unique approaches to... Read More »
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has initiated the PROTECT Plan to mitigate domestic terrorism efforts while protecting civil liberties.
According to ADL data, right-wing extremists were linked to at least 16 extremist-related murders in America last year and have been responsible for 75 percent... Read More »
Where and when COVID-19 transmission rates are high, a new study published in The Lancet Public Health journal last week asserts that weekly testing and two week isolation periods for positive cases remain the most cost-effective ways to control spread.
This will remain the case until vaccines... Read More »
GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) and CureVac N.V. announced a €150 million ($180,639,000) collaboration last week focused on developing mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 and its emerging variants.
Their goal is a multi-valent candidate capable of fighting COVID and its iterations at the same time. This... Read More »
A bill was introduced in Congress last week that would establish a federal contact tracing workforce.
The Coronavirus Containment Corps Act would fill a need for more contact tracing to combat the COVID-19 virus and its variants. It would help by providing federal funding for this workforce... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced legislation to help protect the health and safety of firefighters and emergency responders from adverse substances.
The Protecting Firefighters from Adverse Substances (PFAS) Act directs federal agencies to develop best practices, training, and... Read More »
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency officials said a review of hacking exploits by cybersecurity researchers proved the value of System Security Integration Through Hardware and Firmware (SSITH) program.
“Knowing that virtually no system is unhackable, we expected to discover bugs within... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the intelligence community to review threats posed by domestic terrorist groups and their domestic growth.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, along with Senate... Read More »
New legislation introduced in both chambers of Congress last week -- the Community Immunity During COVID-19 Act -- proposes support for vaccination efforts and to reverse drops in vaccination rates through a mix of funding for local initiatives and access to primary care services.
The effort is... Read More »
Following efficacy and safety data reports released earlier, Johnson & Johnson announced today that Janssen Biotech, Inc. -- J&J’s pharmaceutical arm -- has applied for Emergency Use Authorization from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) outlined his key priorities as the new chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Peter said he would continue to focus on bolstering the federal government’s Coronavirus pandemic response, strengthening national security, including... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) is seeking answers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on its plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccines among its frontline law enforcement workers.
Katko, ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, expressed concerns about the handling of... Read More »
World Health Organization (WHO) officials have joined UNICEF, the
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, and the Vaccine Alliance in touting COVAX’s first COVID-19 vaccine interim distribution forecast.
Building on the publication of the 2021 COVAX global and regional... Read More »
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) introduced Wednesday a House Resolution seeking to establish a new National Institutes of Health unit known as The National Institute of Viral Diseases.
"I am introducing this resolution to build upon our federal government’s investment in scientific research and to... Read More »
The results of Phase 3 clinical trials of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca in the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa were released this week in The Lancet, proving the vaccine to be safe and effective, including preventing any severe cases for at least 22 days after the first dose.
All told,... Read More »
An experimental, intranasal influenza vaccine developed by Emergent Biosolutions, Inc. passed a years-long test this week, showcasing strong immune responses among a small group of volunteers in a phase one study.
The results, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, showed that after... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) introduced legislation to publicly manufacture personal protective equipment, prescription drugs, and other medical supplies necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pandemic Emergency Manufacturing Act of 2021 authorizes the... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will invest $268,000 to develop standards for Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems used by public safety agencies.
The research project will seek to... Read More »
