Battelle develops system to decontaminate, reuse N95 masks
Battelle is manufacturing a system to rapidly decontaminate N95 respirator masks and other medical protective equipment. The Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System (CCDS) is capable of decontaminating up to 80,000 masks per day and even more pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE)... Read More »
Sen. Menendez seeks greater support from health organizations
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is encouraging expanded regional and multilateral health organizations’ support as the global confrontation of the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Menendez, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recently forwarded correspondence to Secretary of State... Read More »
Reps. Barr, Yarmuth leads initiative to back distillery-produced hand sanitizer effort
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is seeking to expedite Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance regarding allowing distilleries to continue manufacturing hand sanitizer in the wake of shortages created by COVID-19. Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY) and John Yarmuth (D-KY) have led the initiative,... Read More »
Abbott launches fastest point-of-care COVID-19 test on market to date
Abbott became the latest company to release a COVID-19 diagnostic last week, pledging test turnaround times of as little as five minutes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted the test emergency use authorization last week. It is meant to run on another Abbott product, the ID NOW... Read More »
HHS accepts 31 million doses of potential COVID-19 treatments in Strategic National Stockpile
The Strategic National Stockpile grew by 31 million doses of various medications this weekend, as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took on donations that may, eventually, aid clinical trials or be used to treat those hospitalized with COVID-19. To be clear, none of those... Read More »
Johnson & Johnson expects human testing of COVID-19 vaccine by Sept under accelerated timeline
Johnson & Johnson wants to begin human testing of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate by September as part of a $1 billion joint investment between the company and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The end goal is to create a billion vaccines for emergency pandemic use to be... Read More »
A conversation with Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, former pandemic doc with the CDC, on the origins of COVID-19, what’s working now and next steps for the American response
Listen to a conversation with Dr. Sonja Rasmussen who spent 20 years at the CDC working on pandemics. Rasmussen’s experience with previous outbreaks provides unique insight into the challenges we face today across the country and the world. Among the topics discussed are: Origins of... Read More »
Reps. Yoho, Soto introduce bill to create national stockpile of personal protective equipment
U.S. Reps. Ted Yoho (R-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL) introduced a bill to ensure the United States builds its stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE). The American-Made Protection for Healthcare Workers and First Responders Act will address the PPE shortage and build the national... Read More »
Government leaders, biotech officials meet virtually to discuss eradicating COVID-19
The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) hosted a virtual summit last week to foster collaboration among government agencies and biopharmaceutical innovators to eradicate coronavirus (COVID-19). The two-day virtual event allowed companies working on treatments and vaccines to come... Read More »
New REAL ID enforcement deadline established due to COVID-19 crisis
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the agency has extended the REAL ID enforcement deadline one year to Oct.1, 2021, in the wake of COVID-19. The extension is in accordance with directives from President Donald Trump, and DHS will publish a notice of the new deadline in the... Read More »
WHO Director-General presses G20 for unified response to fighting COVID-19 pandemic
The world is at war, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the G20 Leaders Summit this week, and every country needs to unite to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. “You have come together to confront the defining health crisis of our time: We are at war... Read More »
HHS implements Executive Order targeting medical supply hoarders
In a system severely taxed by the COVID-19 pandemic, hoarding of health and medical supplies has become a serious concern, and a new Executive Order, to be enforced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is now in effect to tackle that concern. “Today, we designated a set... Read More »
DHS researchers working to better understand the coronavirus and how it spreads
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is conducting research to better understand the COVID-19 coronavirus and prevent its spread. Currently, there is only limited information available about the virus. Researchers at the National Biodefense Analysis... Read More »
Rep. Katko introduces bill to address shortage of personal protective equipment
U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) introduced a bill Wednesday to address the shortage of personal protective equipment, ventilators, and other medical supplies. The Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act would require the president to use the authority invoked under the Defense Production Act to produce... Read More »