Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine 66 percent effective overall against moderate to severe cases
The results of the phase three ENSEMBLE clinical trial have shown that Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot Janssen COVID-19 vaccine candidate is 66 percent effective overall at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 cases 28 days after vaccination. The study also showed that the vaccine... Read More »
DHS puts out National Terrorism Advisory bulletin, warns of heightened threat environment
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin this week, citing a heightened threat environment across the United States that is likely to persist over the coming weeks. The acting DHS secretary issued the bulletin after consultation with... Read More »
CARB-X awards $5.3M to Lumen for diarrheal disease research, development
Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB-X) awarded $5.3 million to Lumen Bioscience to develop a new immunotherapy to prevent diarrheal diseases caused by two specific pathogens -- Campylobacter jejuni and enterotoxigenic E. coli. Diarrheal diseases are intestinal infections caused by... Read More »
Space Command relocation decision suspension sought
Colorado's congressional delegation is encouraging President Joe Biden to suspend the Trump administration's decision to move Space Command from Colorado Springs, Colo., to Huntsville, Ala., until a thorough review. On Jan. 13, the Air Force announced Huntsville would serve as the Space Command... Read More »
UAE, Marines complete defense-focused training
Marine Corps officials said the branch's completion of defense-focused training engagement in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with UAE forces enhances collective crisis response capability in the region. During the week-long initiative, two crisis response forces participated in live-fire... Read More »
GSK, PATH and Bharat Biotech agree to divvy up manufacturing, supply of malaria vaccine
The RTS,S/AS01E malaria vaccine is the focus of a new product transfer agreement between GSK, PATH, and Bharat Biotech (BBIL), which will see manufacturing, supply, and rights split between the three entities. Under the arrangement, manufacturing of the RTS,S antigen and licensing rights to the... Read More »
Sanofi supporting BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing efforts
A new agreement between Sanofi and BioNTech grants the latter access to Sanofi’s infrastructure to aid manufacturing of the COVID-19 vaccine BioNTech has co-developed with Pfizer, granting them the ability to make more than 125 million doses for Europe from summer on. “Although vaccination... Read More »
Fentanyl and COVID-19 induced complications lead to surge in Ohio’s opioid overdoses
More Ohio residents died of opioid overdoses during a three month period of 2020 than at any other point in the last decade, according to a new analysis released by the Scientific Committee on Opioid Prevention and Education (SCOPE) initiated by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. Throughout the... Read More »
Physicians address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
The Biden administration’s plan to tackle COVID-19 includes delivering at least 100 million vaccines in 100 days to the American people. As of this week it was also announced that the federal government purchased 200 million additional doses from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, enough to vaccinate... Read More »
Valneva signs development agreement for chikungunya vaccine
Specialty vaccine company Valneva and Instituto Butantan signed an agreement to develop Valneva’s single-shot chikungunya vaccine, VLA1553, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). As part of the collaboration, Valneva will transfer its chikungunya vaccine technology to Instituto Butantan,... Read More »
Bill seeking to shut down international commercial wildlife markets introduced in Senate
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced a bill that seeks to shut down international commercial wildlife markets. The Preventing Future Pandemics Act would direct the State Department to work with international partners to shut down commercial wildlife markets and stop the associated... Read More »
DEA warns of post-COVID meth, fentanyl market in New York
Officials with the New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said the amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl seized during 2020 indicates an alarming trend in street drugs and overdose deaths. According to the DEA, agents seized 214 percent more methamphetamine and 59... Read More »
TSA details firearm catch rate at airport security checkpoints
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently indicated officers detected twice as many firearms per million passengers screened at airport security checkpoints nationwide in 2020 compared to 2019. “I commend our officers for their commitment to TSA’s security mission by... Read More »
Kinzinger, Kelly reintroduce legislation seeking to amend trafficking victim protections
Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Robin Kelly (D-IL) recently reintroduced a bill designed to amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, encouraging a victim-centered approach to combat human trafficking. The Reducing the Demand for Human Trafficking Act targets those who purchase or... Read More »