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Bicameral legislators introduce measure to protect U.S. from COVID variants
On Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) to introduce legislation that would expand the U.S. response to the coronavirus on an international level. The Nullifying Opportunities for Variants... Read More »
Henry Schein earns $53.4M contract from HHS to support Strategic National Stockpile’s PPE storage, distribution
In efforts to improve the Strategic National Stockpile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a $53.4 million contract to Henry Schein, Inc. this week for the storage and distribution of 80,000 pallets of personal protective equipment and COVID-19 related products. This... Read More »
New CDC study shows mRNA COVID-19 vaccines reduce risk of infection by 91 percent among fully vaccinated
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demonstrated continuing good news for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, crediting them with reducing the risk of infection by 91 percent for those fully vaccinated by either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. While previous... Read More »
More than 40 U.S. representatives call for federal action to guarantee equitable vaccine distribution worldwide
In a letter to President Joe Biden last week, more than 40 U.S. representatives sought to use the impending G7 Summit as an opportunity to call for five quick, immediate actions to guarantee COVID-19 vaccines were administered worldwide. The group, led by U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Tom... Read More »
IDSA calls out gaps in latest White House budget, praises commitment to halting HIV, emerging public health threats
The newest White House budget proposal would put billions of dollars in funding toward public health, drug, and research initiatives, offering what the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) called the potential to return the United States to leadership in infectious disease responses. At... Read More »
Centivax partners with U.S. Naval Medical Research Center to develop broad-spectrum COVID-19 therapeutic
With $4.2 million in funding from the Henry Jackson Foundation and a new partnership with the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC), Centivax Inc. intends to pursue phase one clinical development of Centi-B9, a broad-spectrum injectable for treating SARS-CoV-2. Unlike other vaccines and... Read More »
Organizations call for $50B roadmap to end, recover from pandemic
The leaders of the international organizations for financing, health, and trade are urging government leaders to finance a new $50 billion roadmap to help end the pandemic and spur global economic recovery. Leaders of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization,... Read More »
House legislation seeks to mandate accountability for foreign nations and review WHO’s pandemic actions
U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Conor Lamb (D-PA) sought legislative action on foreign nations’ health efforts last week, introducing the Never Again International Outbreak Prevention Act to establish new monitoring and reporting mandates, sanctions, and an investigation of the World... Read More »
Biden’s budget blueprint ramps up HHS, CDC preparedness and response funding
President Joe Biden’s first budget proposal would authorize the largest funding increase in nearly two decades for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), going above and beyond funding the agency’s disease-focused work at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services... Read More »
WHO warns of need to distribute at least 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses through COVAX this year
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID-19 pandemic situation is stabilizing in nations with advanced vaccination programs, but it is surging in other, less equipped areas, demanding action lest the future become a repeat of present failures. WHO urges the distribution of 2... Read More »
FDA authorizes sotrovimab monoclonal antibody to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 cases
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added another tool to the fight against COVID-19 this week, granting emergency use authorization (EUA) to the monoclonal antibody therapy sotrovimab for use against mild to moderate COVID-19 cases in those 12 years and older. The EUA was granted to... Read More »
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security earns Rockefeller Foundation grant for COVID-19 response research
Thanks to a $400,000 grant from The Rockefeller Foundation, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security will document, evaluate and spread information on large-scale health successes among the COVID-19 response in low and middle-income nations over the past year. This information will be used... Read More »
A pandemic-free future requires public-private partnerships, government leadership
Academia and the private sector must be in a collaborative relationship with the United States government to invest in the research and development of technologies that will prevent a future pandemic, experts said on Wednesday during a webinar hosted by the Capitol Hill Steering Committee on... Read More »
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shown effective in 12 to 17 years olds in Phase 2/3 study
Plans are underway to submit the Moderna, Inc. COVID-19 vaccine to regulators in early June to expand its use, following positive results from a Phase 2/3 study that distributed the vaccine among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old. The vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, met its primary immunogenicity... Read More »
House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans seek classified DHS briefings on COVID-19 origins
In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas written last week, Republican House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders requested two classified briefings on the origins of COVID-19 and any work conducted therein. “[W]e strongly support a comprehensive investigation into the... Read More »
Senators reintroduce Medical Supplies for Pandemics Act to improve supply manufacturing, rebuild Strategic National Stockpile
With the reintroduction of the Medical Supplies for Pandemics Act in the Senate last week, U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) sought to more tightly link the federal government and medical product distributors to strengthen domestic manufacturing and refill the Strategic... Read More »
Senate hearing examines damage caused by lack of, overreliance on foreign supply chains throughout COVID-19 pandemic
In the wake of a pandemic response that had been hobbled initially by a lack of domestic medical supplies and an overreliance on foreign supply chains, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Gary Peters (D-MI) held an oversight hearing with supply chain,... Read More »
CARB-X to invest up to $4.1M into Summit Therapeutics antibiotic for CRE-caused multidrug-resistant infections
Up to $4.1 million in non-dilutive funding from nonprofit CARB-X was announced this week for Summit Therapeutics to help develop a first-in-class antibiotic to treat multidrug-resistant infections, and specifically, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections. This funding will aid... Read More »
Sanofi/GSK COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows high efficacy, acceptable tolerability in interim Phase 2 trial results
Across all adult age groups, going as high as 95 years old, a phase two trial of the Sanofi and GSK adjuvanted recombinant COVID-19 vaccine candidate has demonstrated high antibody responses and no safety concerns, according to interim data released this week. Strong immune responses included a... Read More »
Charles River Analytics wins federal contract for simplified pharmaceutical risk assessment system
The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) recently awarded a $100,000 contract to Charles River Analytics for the creation of a means to assemble information from global trade networks and pharmaceutical drug data and present it in a way that would allow quick identification of problems in the supply... Read More »
Real-world CDC study finds approved mRNA vaccines 94 percent effective against COVID-19
The results of a real-world Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study of 1,843 health workers across the United States showed last week that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are 94 percent effective. Currently approved mRNA vaccines... Read More »
National medical organizations call for sharing of lessons learned from COVID-19 epidemic, greater equity in future
In a public statement released last week, nine national organizations highlighted the pains COVID-19 inflicted upon the world in general and already historically marginalized populations in specific and pressed for strategies to improve crisis standards of care, along with equity. “The... Read More »
Bipartisan legislation seeks new state, local government-focused cybersecurity grant program at DHS
Seven U.S. representatives introduced the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act this week, which seeks to authorize a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant program to fund local and state cybersecurity efforts. In all, the program would benefit from $500 million in funding to... Read More »
House E&C committee leaders urge HHS Secretary to restore FDA authority over COVID-19 lab-developed tests
Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and subcommittees wrote to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra this week urging a reversal of a Trump administration policy that stripped Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over COVID-19 lab-developed tests (LDTs).... Read More »
FDA expands emergency authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is now authorized for emergency use among adolescents ages 12 through 15. While children have seemingly been less susceptible to COVID-19 at large, they can still be carriers, and plenty have... Read More »
Trust for America’s Health calls for robust public health system funding
America’s historically underfunded public health system played a major role in the nation’s laggard COVID-19 response, according to a new report released by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH). And while it’s too soon to calculate with precision, it is likely that the United States... Read More »
WHO approves China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use globally
The World Health Organization (WHO) added the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd. to the list of vaccines approved for emergency use worldwide last week, giving a potential new source and new boost for efforts by the COVAX... Read More »
Bloomberg Philanthropies grants awarded to 18 cities in low and middle-income countries for vaccine distribution efforts
Bloomberg Philanthropies will award up to $50,000 each to 18 cities in low and middle-income countries that are part of the Partnership for Healthy Cities and planning vaccine distribution rollouts with high-risk populations emphasized. Vaccine preparedness activities, including communication... Read More »
Boosters of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine well-tolerated, effective against SARS-CoV-2 and two variants
Moderna, Inc. reported initial data this week showing that in phase two testing, its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine proved effective and well-tolerated as a booster or a single 50 µg dose on the previously vaccinated, against both the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and two variants of concern. In all, three... Read More »
Democratic senators urge President Biden to resume selection of new FBI headquarters
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), as well as Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), are urging President Joe Biden to resume the process of selecting a new home for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In a letter to the Biden administration, the four Congressmen... Read More »
Biden announces federal goal of 70 percent vaccination rate for U.S. adult population by July 4
President Joe Biden announced Tuesday a new federal goal to get at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot in 70 percent of the U.S. adult population and 160 million adults fully vaccinated by July 4, 2021. Accessibility is the main focus in the next leg of the vaccination effort. To that end, the... Read More »
Pfizer pledges more than $70M worth of medicines to India amid COVID-19 crisis
Responding to the spiraling COVID-19 situation in India, Pfizer Inc. announced this week that it will provide more than $70 million worth of medicines to the country immediately, with assistance from government and non-governmental organization partners. “We are donating enough medicines to... Read More »
Moderna to supply up to 500 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX for use by low-income nations
The global COVAX initiative received a major boost in its fight against COVID-19 this week through a new deal with Moderna, Inc. that will bring up to 500 million doses of vaccine into the fold for use by the lowest income countries, including up to 34 million doses this year alone. Delivery of... Read More »
NIH to invest another $29M in grants for COVID-19 research, outreach and treatment
Recognizing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on certain communities, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced last week that it will fund an additional $29 million of grants for the NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities. Supported by the American... Read More »