Countermeasures
U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), who will lead the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the new Congress, plan to hold hearings and develop comprehensive cybersecurity legislation in 2021.
The lawmakers also issued a statement on the recent... Read More »
The House Armed Services Committee leaders are sounding the alarm for the need for a sound cybersecurity policy following the breach of the SolarWinds breach that has impacted several federal agencies.
SolarWinds is a provider of IT infrastructure management software, which is used by several... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has published the PNT Conformance Framework to bolster Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) resilience.
PNT services that include the Global Positioning System (GPS) serve a national function enabling... Read More »
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said the agency's recently published Strategy 2021-2026 introduces new mission and vision statements describing commitment to a safer and more prosperous nation.
The document also addresses mission priorities describing the core in a succinct... Read More »
After securing U.S. House support last week, the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation (STORM) Act, which is meant to reduce risks of flooding, rising water levels, and shoreline erosion along the Great Lakes, is headed for final review by the president.
Introduced by U.S. Sens.... Read More »
On behalf of 190 participating economies, the global COVAX initiative has secured access to nearly 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine candidates and plans to begin dispensing those doses early next year to protect vulnerable groups.
While most of the vaccine candidates involved are still under... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has established a new initiative designed to protect military installations from coastal storm damage and flooding.
DARPA’s new Reefense program seeks to develop biological and engineered reef-mimicking structures to mitigate wave and... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced new partnerships with two organizations through its Partnership Intermediary Agreement Program.
The program was established to leverage the specialized skills of its partners and intermediaries to... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) have earmarked $37.6 million for COVID-19 treatment development.
A research team representing scientists from The Wistar Institute,... Read More »
Alion Science and Technology has secured a $41 million Army contract with a 60-month period of performance to aid the Aerial Delivery Analysis Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Soldier Center.
Under the task order, awarded under the Department of Defense Information Analysis... Read More »
Thanks to an expansion of a partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Hologic, Inc. will accelerate the development of the Aptima SARS-CoV-2/Flu assay, dangling the promise of a test capable of differentiating between the pair.
Specifically, the test... Read More »
A Moderna, Inc. vaccine is on track to become the second COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use in the United States, following this week's positive endorsement from the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC).
The VRBPAC, an advisory committee for the U.S. Food... Read More »
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are looking to improve the manufacturing of rapidly deployed structures to address future shortages of medical care and quarantine facilities during a health crisis, like the current pandemic.
The stress that COVID-19 has placed on medical... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced a bill that would repeal the USA Patriot Act and amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to remove provisions that they say undermine civil liberties.
The bill, the Protect Our Civil Liberties Act (H.R.8970),... Read More »
World Health Organization (WHO) personnel and officials representing Sanofi, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, said the entities are partnering to readdress neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
“This decades-long collaboration exemplifies a successful public–private... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has initiated its DARPA Toolbox, which provides open licensing opportunities with commercial technology vendors to researchers behind DARPA programs.
“DARPA performers are frequently encumbered by having to negotiate access to tools, IP... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Abbott this week for its BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test, allowing for virtually guided use by anyone 15 years or older, with a prescription.
Healthcare providers will refer such patients to the... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic A/S secured $83 million in funding from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) this week, marking a second investment into its JYNNEOS smallpox vaccine from the U.S. government.
This follows a $106 million investment into the vaccine made in April,... Read More »
A Phase 1/2 clinical study is getting underway in the United Kingdom for Valneva SE’s vaccine candidate against the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19.
The French pharmaceutical company said on Wednesday that the VLA2001-201 study is a randomized, double-blind trial to evaluate the... Read More »
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is launching a new campaign that urges the public to “Secure Your Meds” as part of its effort to reduce drug misuse and overdose.
The administration hopes the campaign will remind Americans to clean out their medicine cabinets and secure unused... Read More »
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health has launched a coalition to promote equitable vaccination distribution.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionally affected communities of color in the country. Infection and mortality rates are highest in... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will award $140 million for COVID-19 vaccine preparedness, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced.
The CDC will also award almost $87 million for tracking and testing to 64 jurisdictions, including all 50 states and... Read More »
The engineering, construction, and project management firm Bechtel has initiated an effort to address chemical weapons destruction to reach the goal of eradicating the national stockpile by 2023.
“As a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty, the U.S. is committed to destroying the... Read More »
Three entities have initiated real-world testing efforts to determine the most effective measures to address the public transit virus spread reduction.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has partnered with the New York Metropolitan... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued the first-ever emergency use authorization (EUA) for an over-the-counter, at-home test for COVID-19, awarding that honor to the rapid Ellume COVID-19 Home Test.
This means anyone at least two years of age or older, whether displaying... Read More »
The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Defense (DoD) have partnered with the non-profit Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative on a phase 2 clinical trial to screen multiple potential COVID-19 drugs simultaneously.
Unlike many such trials, which focus on a single drug, this... Read More »
The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services’ (DHSS) Division of Public Health DPH) will allow that state’s residents to access Naloxone free by mail.
In an announcement on Friday, DPH said increasing access to naloxone is critical to reducing overdose deaths, especially as more... Read More »
A bipartisan bill authorizing a public advocacy campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccine participation and provide science-backed information was introduced in the House this week.
The bill provides necessary funds for the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to implement President Trump’s Executive Order to establish the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative.
The final rule seeks to ensure that religious and non-religious organizations are treated equally in DHS-supported programs.... Read More »
Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers maintain the coronavirus can be killed efficiently, quickly, and cheaply using ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs).
Scientists believe the UV-LED technology would soon be available for private and commercial use, suggesting installation in air... Read More »
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has earmarked $525,000 in federal grant funding to continue the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force (HRHTTF) for at least three more years.
The funding allotment via the DOJ's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) would allow the Task Force to expand into new... Read More »
Although distribution of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has begun in the United States, Democrats are criticizing reports that the White House failed to pre-order more doses of the vaccine when it had the opportunity and are pressing for more transparent pandemic planning.
News broke last week in... Read More »
In documents released ahead of a vaccine advisory committee meeting on Dec. 17 to discuss the future of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined the two-dose vaccine to be effective and safe for adults.
If approved for emergency use authorization later... Read More »
Officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Laredo Port of Entry said they have seized more than $2.8 million worth of narcotics in two separate and unrelated actions at the World Trade and Colombia-Solidarity Bridges.
“The effort to... Read More »
The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference report, which passed in the U.S. Senate, includes establishing a Cybersecurity State Coordinator position in every state.
The bill would provide each state with a federally funded Cybersecurity Coordinator, responsible for preventing... Read More »
