News
DNI report assesses intelligence community threats
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines recently spearheaded an effort in which Congress received a report assessing intelligence community threats. The endeavor examined various threats against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, great power competition, and rapidly evolving... Read More »
CISA, partners execute Indianapolis 500 safety exercise
Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) personnel and partners are espousing the benefits of a recently executed tabletop exercise designed to bolster Indianapolis 500 race safety. CISA joined Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials, state and local... Read More »
UMBC deploys Smiths Detection’s BioFlash technology for airborne detection of SARS-CoV-2
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has utilized the BioFlash Biological Identifier created by Smiths Detection to successfully identify airborne traces of SARS-CoV-2 inside its campus in real-time. BioFlash is a device that collects and analyses air samples, rapidly sifting... Read More »
NIH begins Phase 2 trial of antibody treatment for COVID-19 respiratory disease
A phase two trial sponsored and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has begun to investigate the safety and efficacy of IC14, a lab-created monoclonal antibody meant to treat the respiratory troubles of... Read More »
Congress eyes legislation on preventing next pandemic
A panel of public health experts and U.S. senators agreed on several steps Congress should take to prevent or remediate the next pandemic, basing their proposals on lessons learned during the 14 months working to resolve the COVID-19 health crisis. Among their recommendations, aired during a... Read More »
GAO assesses DHS border security improvement plan
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a recommendation to the Department of Homeland Security regarding its plan to improve border security, including the use of personnel, barriers, and technology. The GAO indicated its assessment of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS)... Read More »
NIST links public safety radios, broadband network
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) engineers are espousing the benefits of a low-cost computer system connecting older public safety radios with the latest wireless communications networks. “This NIST project aims to develop a prototype infrastructure that could be used by... Read More »
FLIR wins DARPA contract for new Chem-Bio defense fabric
FLIR Systems, Inc. announced Monday that it had won a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop new fabrics embedded with catalysts and chemical agents that can fight and reduce chemical and biological threats on contact. The fabrics will be incorporated... Read More »
Valneva recruits 4,131 U.S. adults for Phase 3 trial of chikungunya vaccine candidate
Specialty vaccine company Valneva SE has concluded recruitment of 4,131 adults for a phase three trial of VLA1553, a single-shot chikungunya vaccine candidate. If approved, VLA1553 would be the first chikungunya vaccine to gain Biologics License Application. This would, in turn, earn its... Read More »
CDC, FDA recommendations lead to pause of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine
In a joint statement released today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a pause in the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine over rare health concerns. Much as has beleaguered the AstraZeneca... Read More »
Biden administration issues Department of Defense funding request
The Biden-Harris administration has issued to Congress its priorities for fiscal year 2022 Department of Defense discretionary spending. The $715 billion funding request invests in the core foundations of the nation's strength while advancing key Department of Defense priorities that include... Read More »
DHS partnership targets Homeland Security solutions advancement
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) said its partnership with Niceville, Florida-based DEFENSEWERX (DWX) would bolster Homeland Security solutions advancement efforts. DWX is a nonprofit organization focusing on cultivating ecosystems enabling... Read More »
Congress members introduce “No Hate” Act
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of Congress members in announcing the introduction of legislation that would improve hate crime reporting and expand assistance and resources for hate crime victims. The Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to... Read More »
Updated NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines recommend REGEN-COV for non-hospitalized, high risk patients
A mix of casirivimab and imdevimab, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s REGEN-COV, is now strongly recommended by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for high risk COVID-19 patients that are non-hospitalized. The drug was given a strong rate based on randomized trials, which involved more than... Read More »
CDC would gain $1.6B prepare-and-respond funding boost under Biden’s FY2022 budget
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the federal government’s nerve center for its COVID-19 pandemic response, would receive an additional $1.6 billion in funding over last year’s approved levels under President Joe Biden’s mammoth $1.5 trillion federal spending plan for... Read More »
DHS S&T expands cybersecurity tech pilot
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced that it is expanding a pilot test of technology that improves the cybersecurity defenses for the country’s emergency communications infrastructure. In a news release issued on Thursday, S&T said... Read More »
CBP details March 2021 operational statistics
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said a review of its March 2021 operational statistics showed a continued trend of increased encounters and arrests. "We are committed to balancing the need to maintain border security, care for those in our custody and keep the American people and... Read More »
Space Systems Command organizational structure unveiled
The U.S. Space Force recently finalized the Space Systems Command (SSC) organizational structure. Command is slated to officially stand in summer 2021 once required conditions are met to re-designate the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, as SSC... Read More »
Bipartisan Congressional effort seeks greater aid for hate crime victims through Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act
A bipartisan, bicameral response to rising hate crimes in the United States led to the introduction of the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality Act (Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act) today. The legislation would work to actively improve the... Read More »
COVAX reports more than 38 million COVID-19 vaccines delivered since February
The international COVAX facility has managed to deliver more than 38 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to more than 100 economies within 42 days of its first international delivery to Ghana on Feb. 24, 2021. It is a positive start for a massive global undertaking meant to... Read More »
DHS Report: Environment unlikely to affect transmissibility of SARS-COV-2 variants
New research from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has found that the deactivating effects of heat and sunlight are consistent across different variants of the SARS-COV-2 virus – the virus that causes COVID-19. In a report published in the... Read More »
CDC funds target COVID-19 vaccine program expansion
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has earmarked $3 billion to 64 jurisdictions to bolster broad-based COVID-19 vaccine distribution, access, and administration efforts. The funding allotment would support local efforts to increase vaccine uptake by expanding COVID-19 vaccine... Read More »
Lawmakers urge refrain from Iran approach
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to President Joe Biden to encourage a reset if the approach towards Iran versus relinquishing sanctions leveraged over the regime. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Pat Toomey (R-PA), and Todd Young (R-IN) sent the letter to... Read More »
Interim Phase 3 trial data shows lingering COVID-19 antibodies up to six months after Moderna vaccination
Moderna, Inc. is trumpeting the interim results of a phase three trial of its COVID-19 vaccine, which have shown antibodies persisting for six months post-vaccination. These results, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, come with some caveats, though. While the results were founded... Read More »
WHO labels AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine blood clot issues rare, but worth continued study
An assessment by the COVID-19 subcommittee of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) has concluded that blood clots affiliated with the AstraZeneca vaccine are concerning but rare and require further study to determine a causal relationship. All... Read More »
Senators urge Biden administration to fund secure 5G networks
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) joined a group of bipartisan Congress members to urge President Joe Biden to request at least $3 billion to fund the adoption of 5G alternatives to Chinese-made equipment. In a letter to the Biden Administration on Monday, the Congress... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic gets $28M supply order from Janssen for Ebola vaccine substance
Bavarian Nordic received a new supply order from Janssen Pharmaceutica NV to manufacture and deliver bulk drug substance of MVA-BN Filo vaccine to treat Ebola. The MVA-BN Filo vaccine will be licensed to Janssen as part of its Ebola vaccine regimen, Zabdeno and Mvabea, which the European... Read More »
Valneva offers positive COVID-19 vaccine candidate data
The specialty vaccine company Valneva SE has issued positive data for Part A of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine candidate VLA2001. Officials noted subject to regulatory approval, the company plans to initiate a Phase 3 clinical trial by the end of... Read More »
Man sentenced for attempted chemical weapon purchase
Department of Justice officials said a man has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison without parole for attempting to purchase a chemical weapon on the dark web. Jason William Siesser, 46, of Columbia, Mo., pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to acquire a chemical weapon and one... Read More »
Moderna, Catalent to collaborate on high-speed vial filling line for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine
Moderna, Inc. is joining forces with Catalent, Inc. to create a high-speed vial filling line in Indiana that will aid the manufacture of its COVID-19 vaccine and, potentially, other items in Moderna’s clinical portfolio. While Catalent -- a provider of advanced delivery technologies,... Read More »
FDA authorizes first at home blood spot COVID-19 antibody test for emergency use
The Symbiotica COVID-19 Self-Collected Antibody Test System gained emergency use authorization from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week, making it the first antibody test authorized for use with self-collected dried blood spot samples. The test allows those prescribed... Read More »
DHS funds target biological threats monitoring
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has earmarked funds to develop capabilities to monitor the current COVID-19 pandemic and other future biological events. The agency has awarded $199,648 to Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based Mesur.io Inc. for... Read More »
DIA outlines latest MARS initiative breakthrough
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officials recently outlined the latest breakthrough regarding its Machine-assisted Analytic Rapid-repository System (MARS) initiative, touting efforts to provide strategic advantages. The MARS initiative would aid military planners, senior leaders, and... Read More »
Walter Reed-created COVID-19 vaccine begins Phase 1 clinical testing
A new COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) began a phase one clinical trial this week, following positive preclinical showings against SARS-CoV-2, its variants, and SARS-CoV-1, as well. "Even before recent COVID-19 variants were identified, our team... Read More »