International Policy
Ronapreve, a Roche and Regeneron-developed drug cocktail of casirivimab and imdevimab, gained marketing authorization from the European Commission last week for treatment of COVID-19 cases before hospitalization among adults and adolescents at least 12 years old.
Ronapreve can now be used in... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice recently outlined a federal jury's conviction of a Chinese national and Deputy Division Director of the Sixth Bureau of the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security.
Authorities indicated Yanjun Xu was convicted of conspiring to and attempting to commit economic... Read More »
The antiviral Molnupiravir became the first oral treatment for COVID-19 to receive authorization this week, winning approval from the U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency for treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases in adults.
Specifically, users must have had at... Read More »
The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator released a new strategic plan last week that seeks $23.4 billion from international investors by September 2022 to patch inequalities in access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, vaccines, and personal protective equipment.
This is particularly... Read More »
According to a new report from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), the world is broken in its inequality, division, and lack of accountability, making a health emergency ecosystem incapable of ending the COVID-19 pandemic or preventing another.
The opportunity for reform is... Read More »
The Biden-Harris administration has reprioritized global health security at the top of America’s national security agenda in efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic and bolster health systems worldwide by improving preparation, prevention, detection, and response to the next public health... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), John Thune (R-SD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Ben Sasse (R-NE) forwarded correspondence last week to President Joe Biden encouraging the United States to take the global lead regarding COVID-19 vaccinations and pandemic combating efforts.
“We urge you in the... Read More »
In a new position paper, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the setbacks and failures faced worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted seven means for nations to begin building a more resilient and secure health system.
These recommendations include:
Utilizing... Read More »
During a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Deputy Undersecretary for Policy at the Department of Defense, Sasha Baker, affirmed a U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker's (R-MS) naval fleet requirement advocacy.
A hearing exchange resulted in Baker expressing... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Israel Ministry of Public Security (MOPS) officials are touting a partnership to aid homeland security technology development.
The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Homeland Security (BIRD... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the first vaccine to treat malaria in children, a mosquito-borne disease that kills more than 260,000 children under the age of five annually in sub-Saharan Africa, in what public health officials have called a historic development.
“The... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) officials said the agency is evaluating air domain awareness technologies as a means of protecting northern border airspace.
S&T’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory recently spearheaded a test team that... Read More »
Leaders of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs and Global Competitiveness wrote to President Joe Biden this week requesting more work to remove medical trade barriers and bolster distribution to better combat the global spread of COVID-19.
U.S. Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE)... Read More »
Earlier this month, the Nuclear Threat Initiative gathered 100 international experts on biosafety for the 2021 Virtual Global Biosecurity Dialogue (GBD), the latest in an annual series of discussions on how best to maintain attention on and advance biosecurity across the world.
COVID-19 loomed... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) approved Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ drug cocktail of casirivimab and imdevimab for use on COVID-19 patients last week, but that endorsement came with a caveat: it urged lower prices, patent releases and equitable distribution.
The Regeneron antibody... Read More »
At the United States-hosted Global COVID-19 Summit last week, world leaders recommitted to guaranteeing equitable vaccine access for all countries through COVAX, and pledged a mix of funds, doses and supply chain aid to ensure it.
“Science has made huge progress in the fight to save lives,... Read More »
A cooperative effort was enacted against zoonotic diseases this week, with an agreement reached between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and France’s Preventing Zoonotic Disease Emergence (PREZODE) initiative.
Members of the IAEA’s Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC)... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and its HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) announced that it supports the Biden Administration’s movements in making the COVID-19 vaccines accessible around the world, but said more could be done to achieve vaccine equity.
In a letter to the... Read More »
In a letter drafted in advance of the COVID-19 international summit being hosted by President Joe Biden, a group of United States senators and representatives pressed the president this week to commit resources to advancing vaccination efforts worldwide.
The urging from members of Biden’s own... Read More »
A group of lawmakers have introduced a bill preventing the Biden Administration from recognizing Afghanistan's Taliban-controlled government in international organizations.
Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) joined Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) in detailing the... Read More »
A group of lawmakers have forwarded correspondence to President Joe Biden, encouraging efforts allowing vaccinated Canadians to travel to the U.S. through land ports of entry.
"As Senators who represent states along the northern border, our communities have been deeply affected by the... Read More »
In a new paper, researchers from the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) found that nuclear security now exists in something of a patchwork: from individual states’ domestic regulations and policies, to informal groups of countries working on aspects of security and more formal binding... Read More »
Vaccine equity is in need of a boost globally, and in Africa in particular, and unless that changes, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and other health leaders said this week the COVID-19 pandemic may never end.
Cooperation is the key to ending the... Read More »
The Biden administration seeks an international summit on COVID-19 pandemic responses and to form a united global front for vaccination efforts, a proposal that could impact vaccine manufacturing, supply chains and even the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.
Closer to home, though, U.S.... Read More »
Sandia National Laboratories' modular radiation detection monitors will decrease costs and enhance threat detection, officials say.
As part of an effort to replace and upgrade the aging radiation detection systems at ports across the country, the Department of Homeland Security tasked Sandia... Read More »
A pair of lawmakers have forwarded correspondence to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, expressing disapproval of the Taliban’s recently announced cabinet appointees.
Reps. John Katko (R-NY), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and August Pfluger (R-TX),... Read More »
A group of lawmakers have forwarded correspondence to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, seeking guidance regarding the evacuation of Americans and others from Afghanistan.
Representatives Ami Bera (D-CA), Zoe Lofgen (D-CA), and Jerry Nadler... Read More »
A group of lawmakers have introduced a bill that seeks to establish a U.S.-Israel Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development Center.
Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Grace Meng (D-NY), Dean Phillips (D-MN), and Mike Waltz (R-FL) presented the legislation as a... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) released a compendium this week consisting of 24 innovative health technologies that could be used by low and middle-income countries to advance disease preparedness and response.
“Innovative technologies are accelerating access to healthcare everywhere, but... Read More »
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 »
Vaccination has begun for a Phase 2/3 trial of Bharat Biotech International Ltd’s (BBIL) Chikungunya vaccine candidate, through a partnership with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in Costa Rica.
The Costa Rican trial of BBV87, the official name for the candidate, marks the... Read More »
A pair of lawmakers have forwarded correspondence to the Department of Defense, seeking a briefing and information related to the Taliban’s access to U.S. military equipment in Afghanistan.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member... Read More »
The United States and Singapore reached an agreement that seeks to expand cybersecurity cooperation efforts between the nations.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) -- signed by Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly and Chief Executive of the Cyber... Read More »
A trio of lawmakers have forwarded correspondence to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan regarding detainees reportedly released from detention facilities in Afghanistan after Taliban seizure of the country.
Reps. John Katko (R-NY), Michael McCaul (R-TX), and Mike Rogers (R-AL)... Read More »
With the formation of a new Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for experts to lend their knowledge on the origins of pathogens with wide-reaching potential.
This multidisciplinary group will consist of up to 25... Read More »
