CDC issues health advisory over risks and mounting illnesses linked to Ivermectin as COVID-19 treatment
Although a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescription medication, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a warning last week that the drug ivermectin is not meant to be used for prevention or treatment of COVID-19. Failing to heed that warning... Read More »
California roundtable addresses federal wildfire assistance efforts
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) recently hosted local leaders in Santa Rosa, Calif., during a roundtable discussion regarding wildfire prevention, response and recovery efforts. The discussion and listening session stemmed from the White House's approval of Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request for a... Read More »
DHS to Launch New Approach to Hiring Cyber Talent
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity Service has launched a new approach to hiring and retaining top cyber talent, the department said Friday. In order to recruit the best cybersecurity employees to work across cybersecurity specializations and DHS Component Agencies,... Read More »NIH begins study of extra COVID-19 vaccine dose effects on people with autoimmune disease
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) began a Phase 2 clinical trial last week to investigate any antibody response generated by an extra dose of authorized/approved COVID-19 vaccines among patients with autoimmune disease who experienced no response from a previous vaccine regimen. The... Read More »Summit highlights DOD Defense Industrial Workforce Strategy
During the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) Summit in Danville, Virginia, Department of Defense (DOD) officials highlighted the agency's Defense Industrial Workforce Strategy. The presentation, Perspectives on Industrial Workforce Challenges, addressed perspectives on closing... Read More »Pandemic Action Network proposes financing global pandemic preparedness through UN-run fund
A new policy brief released this month by the advocacy group Pandemic Action Network (PAN) calls on world leaders to create a 100-day action plan toward creating a new financing mechanism at the United Nations General Assembly capable of bolstering pandemic preparedness by at least $10 billion... Read More »
NTI analysis recommends immediate action to manage use of AI in nuclear weapons systems
According to a new paper from the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), artificial intelligence in nuclear weapons systems is a neutral wash of possibilities -- but it also appears inevitable, and as a result, immediate action is needed to balance benefits and risks while the technology is... Read More »
HHS fills vacant public posts on tick-borne illness advisory group
New voices were added to the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Tick-Borne Disease Working Group this week, filling positions left vacant by public members looking to workshop ideas on how best to counter rising cases of tick-borne illnesses. In all, seven new members... Read More »
Phase 3 trial for INOVIO COVID-19 vaccine candidate authorized to proceed in Brazil
INOVIO received the green light for phase three of its INNOVATE Phase 2/3 clinical trial of INO-4800 last week, allowing it to proceed with efficacy evaluation of its COVID-19 DNA vaccine candidate in Brazil. Alongside its partner, Advaccine Biopharmaceuticals Suzhou Co., Ltd., INOVIO intends to... Read More »Sens. Hoeven and Cramer tout Grand Forks AFB plans
Two North Dakota Senators are touting infrastructure improvements at Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) and the 319th Reconnaissance Wing (RW) that would lead to future Air Force Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) helped secure... Read More »
Zalgen to supply Lassa Fever antibody testing kits for CEPI study in West Africa
The largest ever Lassa Fever study in West Africa secured the means of testing this week, thanks to a contract between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Zalgen Labs LLC, which will supply antibody testing kits for up to 7,000 participants. Zalgen, a biotechnology... Read More »
Trial data shows Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 booster shot provides sizeable antibody uptick
New data released by Johnson & Johnson this week showed that using its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine as a booster for the previously vaccinated could provide as much as a nine-fold increase in antibodies for patients at least 18 years old. The news follows interim reports from July, published in... Read More »
Air Force selects Cyber Warfare Wing site
Air Force officials said the military branch has selected Ohio’s Mansfield-Lahm Air National Guard Base as the preferred venue for a new Cyber Warfare Wing mission. Officials said the transformation would support Air Combat Command’s future requirements -- resulting in operational mission... Read More »House Republicans press NIH and NIAID for further details on Wuhan Lab biosafety concerns
Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week queried the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Francis Collins, with more questions in the saga of the Chinese Wuhan Institute of Virology, its research and the origins of COVID-19. Writers included... Read More »