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The latest test to be authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) represents a major milestone amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic: the first combination test capable of detecting both COVID-19 and influenza A and B using samples collected at home.
“With just one swab or sample,... Read More »
According to a new report by IBM Security X-Force, malicious cyber actors are targeting the COVID-19 cold chain, an integral part of delivering and storing a vaccine at safe temperatures.
Cyber attackers, posing as officials from biomedical companies, are sending phishing emails to executives... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) has introduced a bill that encourages medical manufacturers to keep their manufacturing operations in the United States.
The Mobilize America to Manufacture Equipment Required for Independence from Communist Adversaries Act (Mobilize AMERICA Act) would provide an... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has made the necessary preparations for the immediate mass shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine once they are ready to go.
The Department of Transportation has been working with Operation Warp Speed officials over the past few weeks to coordinate with... Read More »
Public trust must be maintained in preparing for and responding to another large-scale biological event like the ongoing novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a former Trump administration emergency management expert told the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense on Monday.
Tom Bossert,... Read More »
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) made several recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic to increase transparency and accountability among federal agencies.
The GAO report outlined that the United States has had more than 10 million cumulative cases of COVID-19 and... Read More »
A group of Democratic U.S. senators recently urged Congressional leaders to provide funding to ensure the swift distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
With the news of at least one COVID-19 vaccine could be available to be distributed before the end of the year, many state and local governments... Read More »
Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest global public health concerns and is projected to be so for the next three decades. In the United States alone, 2.8 million people contract an antibiotic-resistant infection, killing more than 35,000 people each year.
Approximately 15 percent of... Read More »
From April through June 2020, New York City hospitals were overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, and now, a working group of 15 hospital intensive care unit directors and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security have reported on the successes and failures of that time.
“Crisis Standards of... Read More »
Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracies to defraud the United States and violate the anti-kickback statute.
In a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney General’s office said the pharmaceutical company pleaded guilty... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to allocate initial doses of Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody therapeutic, casirivimab and imdevimab.
The treatments received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Nov. 21 for treatment of... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) criticized the Trump administration for what he calls its lack of action against foreign adversaries, including Russia, China, and North Korea, that have launched cyber-attacks against American hospitals and research institutions in an attempt to steal information... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a pilot program for COVID-19 test kits that provide rapid results.
The pilot program for these portable, cartridge-based COVID-19 molecular test kits will be done in five states, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, Texas, and... Read More »
As the world moves closer to one or more potential COVID-19 vaccines, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has formed a collaborative effort to monitor the emergence of new COVID-19 viral strains and evaluate any impacts they may have on those candidates.
Other coalition... Read More »
Federal lawmakers from Oregon are requesting financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help offset the costs of fighting the wildfires.
Specifically, they are asking FEMA to assume 100 percent of the cost share for debris removal and emergency protective... Read More »
According to the Center for American Progress, an independent thinktank, violent crime rates dropped in 10 jurisdictions that enacted comprehensive police reform.
The group analyzed violent crime rates in 10 jurisdictions where the police department fulfilled a reform agreement with the U.S.... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced that approximately $43 million in funding will be made available for New York City’s Office of Management and Budget to cover COVID-19 related expenses.
Specifically, this funding covers the cost of enhanced protective... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is partnering with large chain pharmacies and networks of independent pharmacies and regional chains to maximize access to COVID-19 vaccines.
This effort will cover approximately 60 percent of pharmacies throughout the 50 states, the... Read More »
While Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan implemented aggressive testing strategies and infrastructure during the early spread of SARS-CoV-2, the United States failed to develop and distribute reliable diagnostic tests when the pandemic initially hit the country, according to a new report.
This... Read More »
Nearly 2,000 Marine recruits were put into a two-week quarantine before starting basic training, according to a study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Naval Medical Research Center, and despite this, asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19 still occurred.
Published this... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced a bill in the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021.
The $69.8 billion spending plan includes funding to support investments in border security, disaster recovery and... Read More »
A neutralizing antibody developed by Eli Lilly and Company -- bamlanivimab --for use on COVID-19 earned emergency use authorization from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week, specifically for treating mild to moderate cases.
Now, the drug can be utilized on those 12... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) announced last week that it will collaborate with Mesa Biotech, Inc. on its rapid combination test meant to diagnose and differentiate between SARS-CoV-2 – the virus behind COVID-19 – and influenza.
Known as Accula, the test... Read More »
Pfizer and BioNTech reported on Monday that their joint COVID-19 vaccine candidate is more than 90 percent effective at preventing infection among those without evidence of prior exposure.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” Dr. Albert Bourla, Pfizer chairman and CEO, said.... Read More »
The U.S. Army announced contracts of up to $1.1 million each with nine small businesses and nonprofit research institutions last week to develop technologies capable of meeting certain military challenges.
These contracts will push contractors to spend six to 18 months, creating demonstration... Read More »
In comments made to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week, major medical societies blasted efforts to change visa rules, citing concerns over limits the “arbitrary and disruptive” change would impose and pleading for exemptions for physicians.
Together, the societies -- which... Read More »
Through a new contract announced this week, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will provide up to $30 million to Invirsa, a small Columbus, Ohio, biopharmaceutical company, for a treatment that could hold the cure to DNA-damage from sulfur mustard injuries in... Read More »
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) granted more than $8.1 million to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) this week to help it cover costs accrued by the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic after a federal disaster declaration in March.
In all, the funds... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) signed a contract with McKesson Corp. to produce and distribute ancillary to help healthcare workers administering COVID-19 vaccines once they are approved.
The ancillary supply kits will be produced and distributed on behalf of the... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) introduced the Commitment to Defeat the Virus and Keep America Healthy Act, a package of over 50 bills from the House Energy and Commerce Committee that deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
The act includes bills related to pandemic preparedness and response,... Read More »
New Mexico is one of many areas throughout the United States currently facing a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, and in response, the New Mexico Congressional delegation called on federal agencies this week to provide a full accounting of the state’s share of stockpiled PPE.
Federal Emergency... Read More »
The states of Washington, Oregon, and Nevada have joined California’s COVID-19 Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, which will independently review the safety and efficacy of any vaccine approved by the FDA for distribution.
“California has led with science and data through the COVID... Read More »
A collaborative paper from researchers at the University of Oxford, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal this week, argued that meaningful comparison between potential COVID-19 vaccines will need standardized methods and ongoing studies to determine efficacy.
The authors of the... Read More »
Leaders of the effort to develop a COVID-19 vaccine said Tuesday more than 60,000 Americans have volunteered to participate in clinical trials at six different pharma companies with the goal to begin distributing a vaccine by January.
Operation Warp Speed, created by the Trump administration... Read More »
A month after the federal government announced it would provide 150 million Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 tests throughout the United States, states have begun detailing how they, in turn, will utilize those tests for maximum effect.
For most of the 32 states and the District of Columbia, which have... Read More »
