News
CEPI seeks improved flow of critical COVID-19 vaccine supply chain with COVAX Marketplace
Partners in COVAX, a global collaborative effort to accelerate development, manufacturing and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, launched the COVAX Marketplace last week to match buyers with suppliers through a secure new platform and overcome short-term bottlenecks. The Marketplace is a... Read More »
Sen. Ernst sounds alarm on threats to homeland after Afghanistan exit
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernest (R-IA) introduced legislation Wednesday that would require military and intelligence agencies to monitor the threat from terrorist organizations that could result from the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Ernst, a combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed... Read More »
Justice, Homeland Security Departments launch website designed to combat ransomware
Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the agencies have united with federal partners to launch a new website designed to combat ransomware attacks. StopRansomware.gov serves as a hub for ransomware resources accessible to individuals,... Read More »
Legislation protecting full-time jobs of FEMA Reservists advances Senate
A bill seeking to prevent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Reservists from losing full-time employment when aiding community disaster response advanced the U.S. Senate last week. U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced the Civilian Reservist Emergency Workforce... Read More »
U.S. Surgeon General stresses continued threat of health misinformation amid COVID-19 vaccination efforts
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy recently issued the first Surgeon General's Advisory of this administration warning of the urgent dangers posed by health misinformation and disinformation, threatening COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the United States. The American public needs to be aware... Read More »
DHS S&T collaborates with Beacon NGO to broaden reach of incident command system
A new, joint effort between the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and the nonprofit Beacon NGO will seek to build upon S&T’s Next-Generation Incident Command System (NICS) and pitch it to a larger emergency response community. To achieve... Read More »
Bills to strengthen cybersecurity advance in Senate
The U.S. Senate advanced this week legislation authored by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) designed to protect public and private networks from cyber threats. Peters' two pieces of legislation - The K-12 Cybersecurity Act and the Supply Chain Security Training Act - passed unanimously in the... Read More »
DHS S&T exploring autonomous ocean surveillance technology
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced this week that it has partnered with several entities to evaluate the use of autonomous surface and underwater ocean surveillance technology. The agency has teamed up with the University of Southern... Read More »
Legislation offers protections from clawbacks of assistance to disaster victims
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI) recently introduced legislation designed to offer disaster victims protections from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance clawbacks due to agency errors. The senators commended the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental... Read More »
U.S. Department of Commerce issues $153M to spur biopharmaceutical manufacturing innovation
A total of $153 million was split between two projects under the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIMBL) this week, as awarded by the United States Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). “I am so pleased that... Read More »
Johns Hopkins commends InterAcademy Partnership, Tianjin Biosecurity for new scientific codes of conduct
Noting that with advances in biological sciences comes the potential for abuse, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security applauded the InterAcademy Partnership this week for endorsing new Guidelines for Codes of Conduct for Scientists produced by Tianjin Biosecurity. These guidelines,... Read More »
Appropriations Committee approves Defense Funding Bill for FY 2022
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee approved the Defense Funding bill for FY 2022 on a 33-23 vote. The bill provides $705.9 billion in defense spending, an increase of 1.4 percent over 2021’s budget. The increase reflects President Joe Biden’s budget... Read More »
Cyber, infrastructure investments included in approved Homeland Security funding bill
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee announced this week the approval of the fiscal year 2022 Homeland Security funding bill, which invests in cyber and infrastructure security while combating domestic extremist violence. The action also expands the Coast Guard's Arctic reach and the maritime... Read More »
Northrop Grumman building lifecycle production facility for hypersonic weapons
Northrop Grumman Corporation announced Tuesday that its Hypersonics Center of Excellence is currently under construction and once completed, would support the nation's military and allies in combating threats. The 60,000-square-foot site in Elkton, Md., would offer production for hypersonic... Read More »
HHS awards $398M from the American Rescue Plan to aid small rural hospitals with COVID-19 efforts
Approximately $398 million was issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a means of helping 1,540 small rural hospitals address COVID-19 testing and mitigation. “Our state-based SHIP grantees... Read More »
Bechtel teams begins elimination of new batch of VX nerve gas-bearing rockets
Teams from the Bechtel Corporation at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP) near Richmond, Ky., have begun purging another batch of chemical weapons, continuing a campaign that intends to destroy nearly 18,000 rockets bearing the VX nerve agent. The latest round begins... Read More »
Congress launches probe into Covid-19 origins
A congressional panel began the formal process of investigating the origins of Covid-19 Wednesday amid recriminations over allegations of researchers being intentionally misled by the Chinese government and American media and politicians. U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) labeled it “a bit... Read More »
IAEA breaks ground on International Nuclear Security Training Center
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced it had broken ground on a new facility to strengthen countries’ abilities to tackle nuclear terrorism Monday. According to Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of IAEA, the new IAEA Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre... Read More »
NENA unveils new NG9-1-1 standard
The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) announced this week the organization's approval of a new version of its Next Generation 9-1-1 standard. The action would aid the process of accelerating the transition to faster emergency response, detailing NG9-1-1 infrastructure updates that... Read More »
Reps. Burgess, Lee introduce legislation incentivizing a full DOD audit
U.S. Reps. Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) recently introduced a bill to address defense budget transparency and accountability, ensuring the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) achieves a clean audit opinion on its financial statements. The Audit the Pentagon Act of 2021 will seek to... Read More »
Gavi to purchase COVID-19 vaccine candidates from Sinopharm, Sinovac
With a pair of new advance purchase agreements arranged this week, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, intends to add two inactivated virus vaccines for COVID-19 to its stores for COVAX -- one from Sinopharm and one from Sinovac. Sinopharm’s offering is BBIBP-CorV, which will become available this... Read More »
Former NSA official Jen Easterly confirmed as director of CISA
After an eight-month void in official leadership, the U.S. Senate this week confirmed former Obama-era senior National Security Agency official Jen Easterly to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) amid increasingly frequent digital attacks. Easterly, who formerly... Read More »
Commission urges Congress to strengthen biodefense of infrastructure
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense urged Congress to take action to protect the country’s critical infrastructure from biological threats on Wednesday. In two recent reports, The Apollo Program for Biodefense: Winning the Race Against Biological Threats, and Biodefense in Crisis:... Read More »
BAE secures sustainment contract for Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle program
BAE Systems has secured an Army contract worth up to $600 million for sustainment and support for the U.S. Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) over the next five years. “The AMPV family of vehicles will bring unmatched capability to the battlefield and has demonstrated outstanding... Read More »
Measure seeks domestic genomics protections
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is encouraging Senate passage of his legislation, The Genomics Data Security Act (S.1744), which establishes protections addressing Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) national security risks. S.1744 was presented in the wake of a recent Office of... Read More »
First participants dosed in Phase 1/2 study of new mRNA-based, Moderna seasonal flu vaccine
The first healthy adult participants of the Phase 1/2 randomized and observer-blinded test of Moderna’s new quadrivalent seasonal flu vaccine were dosed last week, officially beginning a trial much desired by global health experts. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a list of targets for... Read More »
CDC, FDA disagree with Pfizer on whether COVID-19 vaccine boosters necessary
Questions were spurred last week with news from Pfizer and BioNTech that progress was being made on a COVID-19 vaccine booster the companies indicated would likely be needed in the future -- a stance promptly contradicted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease... Read More »
DHS assesses Privacy Technology Demonstration results
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) officials have assessed the 2020 Privacy Technology Demonstration results. The endeavor sought to advance efforts to protect the privacy of individuals appearing in photos and videos. Five privacy systems... Read More »
CEPI, Norwegian partners fund COVID-19 vaccine efficacy study of immunosuppressed and organ transplant patients
While the efficacy of many COVID-19 vaccines has largely been established, more specific questions remain, such as their effectiveness on the immunosuppressed and transplant patients -- a fact that has prompted a new study, led by the Oslo University Hospital and funded by a series of national and... Read More »
LightDeck Diagnostics awarded $35.1M DoD contract to increase production of COVID-19 antibody tests
LightDeck Diagnostics, which produces both SARS-CoV-2 Ultra-Rapid Antigen and COVID-19 Total Antibody Tests, was awarded a $35.1 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) last week to increase production capacity for these speedy diagnostics. Both tests are point-of-care tests... Read More »
NIH study: COVID-19 surges increased patient mortality
A recent study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health suggests that one in every four COVID-19 deaths in the United States may be attributed to hospitals strained by surging caseloads. Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the study looked at data from 150,000 COVID-19... Read More »
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security proposes 13 initiatives to improve future pandemic response
Is the United States prepared for the next pandemic? That question has forced experts to either rethink preparedness strategies or find ways to bolster existing policy in the era of COVID-19. For the researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, this has meant identifying 13... Read More »
Sens. Collins, Bennet introduce opioid, substance abuse training legislation
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday to standardize opioid and substance abuse training for prescribers. The Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act would require controlled substance providers to complete substance... Read More »
GAO issues F-35 sustainment recommendations to Defense Department
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued the Department of Defense (DOD) a series of recommendations regarding F-35 aircraft fleet sustainment. The GAO review stems from the DOD's plan to acquire nearly 2,500 F-35 aircraft for about $400 billion and project expenditures totaling an... Read More »