Countermeasures
Moderna, Inc. will expand its vaccine efforts with three new development programs targeting mRNA vaccines for HIV, Nipah, and four seasonal flu viruses.
The company also intends to expand its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine program to older adults.
This is thanks to the... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel joined forces with military entities to successfully recover approximately 1.9 tons of cocaine and disrupted a Caribbean smuggling attempt.
The Air and Marine Operations (AMO) National Air Security Operations Center—Jacksonville (NASOC—J) P-3... Read More »
As a new, more infectious strain of SARS-CoV-2 spreads further from the United Kingdom and across the United States, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising that its impact on molecular tests will likely be low, with three approved tests currently affected.
The variant, known as... Read More »
The violent suicide bombing that rocked downtown Nashville, Tenn., on Christmas morning and devastated dozens of businesses in the area also exposed the difficulties with an American reliance on reactive, rather than proactive, emergency planning efforts.
While much focus has been placed on... Read More »
Leaders of five House committees are seeking an immediate briefing with the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on its efforts to investigate the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that led to five deaths.
“We write to request an immediate and urgent briefing on the steps the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Tucson Medical Center (TMC) began administering monoclonal antibody therapeutic treatments last week.
The treatments were given at a temporary COVID-19 infusion center in Tucson. It is just the second federally supported infusion center... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is exploring the development of next-generation night-vision goggle (NVG) technology.
The Enhanced Night Vision in eyeglass form (ENVision) program allows the DSO seeks to create lightweight NVGs offering a... Read More »
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced efforts that resulted in the seizure of approximately $2 million worth of suspected heroin and fentanyl pills and five arrests.
Officials noted the actions occurred following an investigation into a large-scale narcotics organization operating in the... Read More »
Both Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) DRIVe and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) put out a call this week for comments on potential evaluation criteria and testing protocols for an improved mask design challenge.
Input will help... Read More »
A collaboration and services agreement united Bayer and CureVac N.V. this week in support of CureVac’s new class mRNA-based medicines, particularly its COVID-19 vaccine candidate CVnCoV.
Under the agreement, Bayer will support development, supply, and key territory operations through its... Read More »
At least 80 percent to 85 percent of Americans should receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the country to reach herd immunity, said National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins in a Jan. 6 interview with the Washington Post.
“Herd immunity requires the majority of a population to be... Read More »
A new report from the LaJolla Institute for Immunology has revealed that almost all survivors of COVID-19 have the immune cells necessary to fight re-infection.
Based on analyses of blood samples from 188 COVID-19 patients, the findings suggest that the immune system learns to fight specific... Read More »
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.28 billion sustainable contract from the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office.
This Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) supports operations and sustainment of the global F-35 fleet through June 30, 2021.
"This contract ensures F-35s remain ready to fly and... Read More »
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and NASCAR officials recently joined Daytona International Speedway personnel, first responders, and law enforcement officials in conducting a Daytona 500 fan safety tabletop exercise.
The exercise serves as an example of the planning and... Read More »
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) has launched a multi-year research effort officials said is designed to automate broad-area search of multi-source satellite imagery.
The Space-based Machine Automated Recognition Technique (SMART) program detects, monitors, and... Read More »
Under a $13.5 million contract, Bavarian Nordic A/S announced this week that it would provide supplies of its IMVANEX smallpox vaccine to three European governments in the first half of 2021.
“We are pleased to expand our sales of smallpox vaccines to other countries,” Paul Chaplin,... Read More »
Before Jan. 19, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will release more than $22 billion in funding to support states, localities, and territories grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic through a mix of expanded testing and vaccination distribution efforts.
"This funding is... Read More »
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than 470,000 people at New England’s six largest airports from Dec. 18 to Jan. 3.
The average number of passengers screened during the 2020 holiday travel period was about 27,600 a day at New England’s top six airports, including... Read More »
The National Security Council staff has launched a task force to coordinate the investigation and remediation of the recent Solar Winds cyberattack involving federal government networks.
The task force -- called the Cyber Unified Coordination Group (UCG) -- is composed of representatives from... Read More »
The Navy has awarded BAE Systems a $4 million rapid response contract to conduct a quick-turnaround demonstration of a P-8A Poseidon radio frequency countermeasure (RFCM) system.
“The ability to meet this unprecedented response time underscores our agility, focus on meeting customer needs, and... Read More »
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is encouraging communities to apply for Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs (SIREN) Act funds in support of fire and emergency medical services (EMS).
“In many small and rural towns in Illinois and across the country, rural fire and EMS agencies are a lifeline in... Read More »
Dr. Barbara Alexander, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, chair of the HIV Medicine Association, called this week for swift action to overcome the hurdles slowing COVID-19 vaccine access and efforts to counter the raging pandemic.
“To address... Read More »
ACTIV-2, a study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has begun phase 2/3 trials to evaluate two monoclonal antibody therapies that could help those with mild or moderate cases of COVID-19.
The twin antibodies are known as BRII-196 and BRII-198, both... Read More »
Tests conducted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) showed promising results that facial recognition technologies can accurately identify individuals wearing protective face masks.
The tests were conducted as part of S&T’s 2020 Biometric... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and John Katko (R-NY) introduced a bill to enhance the nation’s readiness to prepare for and respond to public safety and national security threats – including pandemics.
Their bill -- the Analyzing Disaster Vulnerabilities and Applicable National... Read More »
A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) report assessing the 2020 calendar year detailed the implementation of modifications across more than 440 federalized airports nationwide amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, the agency screened a total of approximately 324... Read More »
Laura McGill has been named Sandia National Laboratories deputy labs director and will lead its nuclear deterrence programs to support safety, security, and reliability excellence.
“I’m honored to join Sandia Labs and the tradition of serving the national security mission,” McGill said.... Read More »
While many antibody tests today fail to identify neutralizing antibodies, Dr. Benjamin Larimer, a researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), has developed a diagnostic capable of accurately and quickly identifying these antibodies and showing people’s potential immunity to... Read More »
Legislation designed to reduce military training accidents was signed into law last week.
The bill’s sponsor, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), attached the measure to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It requires the Department of Defense to examine emergency response... Read More »
U.S. Reps Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced a bill requiring the regular disclosure of the presence of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations on social media websites.
Further, the bill, the Online Terrorism Prevention Act (H.R.9043), would impose financial and... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials have released the Fiscal Year 2020 Enforcement Lifecycle Report, an analysis of enforcement outcomes for aliens encountered at the Southwest Border.
The report covers Fiscal Years 2014 through 2019. The Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS)... Read More »
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has acquired the autonomy business of Spatial Integrated Systems Inc. (SIS), indicating the acquisition expands HII’s unmanned systems capabilities with unmanned surface vessel (USV) solutions.
“We are excited to welcome the SIS autonomy business employees... Read More »
In a rare New Year’s Day session, the Senate voted to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), setting aside his concerns in favor of pay and benefits for the armed forces.
“The NDAA provides vital support for our men and women in... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued emergency use validation for the Pfizer/BioNTech Comirnaty mRNA vaccine last week, ending 2020 by issuing the first such validation for a COVID-19 vaccine.
The global organization’s declaration will allow countries to expedite their regulatory... Read More »
The American Defamation League’s (ADL) Center on Extremism is partnering with the Community Security Initiative (CSI) to focus on the security needs of the Jewish communities of greater New York City.
The initiative responds to a series of violent attacks in the Jewish communities of Jersey... Read More »
