Legislation authored by U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) was included in a comprehensive bill package on Friday aimed at combating domestic terrorism in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting.
The Countering Terrorist Radicalization Act, H.R. 5471, will seek to streamline domestic... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization presented evidence on Friday that yellow fever vaccine given at one-fifth of the regular dose could be used to control an outbreak in case of vaccine shortages.
The reduced dose, known as fractional... Read More »
The Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) Defense Spectrum Organization (DSO) named Alion Science and Technology on Wednesday as an awardee of a five-year, multiple-award contract valued up to $137 million to assist the military’s access to wireless spectrum frequencies.
Alion will... Read More »
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) exercised an option on Wednesday for the supply of 171,000 doses of Bavarian Nordic’s Imvamune smallpox vaccine to the national stockpile at a total value of up to $7.7 million.
Imvamune is a non-replicating smallpox vaccine that is being stockpiled... Read More »
The National International Health Regulations (IHR) of the United States notified the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday of the first confirmed case of locally-acquired Chikungunya virus in the state of Texas.
The patient became ill in... Read More »
The U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector held a border safety initiative (BSI) on Tuesday to raise awareness about the dangers posed by swift-moving canal systems and the barren desert terrain in border communities in an effort to save lives.
The border patrol was joined by representatives of... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) released data from a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Wednesday that shows that approximately 91 percent of known or suspected terrorists passed a background check to purchase a firearm or explosives between Feb. 2004 and Dec. 2015.
The GAO... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (R-FL) urged the president on Wednesday to reevaluate the Relative Risk Score Threat Level applied to the Orlando area so that it qualifies for funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative.
The two senators sent letters to the Obama... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) seeking approval for the manufacture of BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed) at the company’s Building 55 was accepted for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week.
“Emergent’s... Read More »
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began its new Prometheus program on Monday to identify prognostic biomarkers that indicate contagiousness following infection but prior to symptoms appearing in a patient.
Prometheus will seek to discover a minimal set of molecular... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday selected the California Department of Health, in partnership with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is Los Angeles, to serve a region covering Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and the Pacific Islands.
With its selection, Cedar-Sinai... Read More »
Steven M. Holland on Tuesday was named director of the division of intramural research (DIR) at the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“Dr. Holland is widely respected within NIH and beyond as a highly skilled and... Read More »
The House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on Tuesday concerning the U.S. public health response to antibiotic resistant bacteria, otherwise known as “superbugs.”
The hearing was initiated after the discovery of the MCR-1 gene in a Pennsylvania woman who contracted... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted orphan drug status to Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., on Wednesday for BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed) for post-exposure prophylaxis of anthrax disease from suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthraces.
BioThrax is the only... Read More »
The Alliance for Biosecurity released the names of recipients of the 2016 Congressional Biosecurity Champion Awards on Monday
The winners include U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), along with U.S. Reps. Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Diana... Read More »
