Threats
COVID-19 Global Vaccination Caucus sees $2 billion for vaccine manufacturing as mere starting point
While buoyed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s advancement of the Build Back Better Act, and the offerings therein, the United States COVID-19 Global Vaccination Caucus chimed in last week to note that its offers for vaccine manufacturing are just a beginning. The caucus consists of... Read More »
International organizations, vaccine manufacturers agree to intensify vaccine delivery
Leaders of several international organizations including the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization met with the CEOs of leading vaccine manufacturing companies to discuss way to improve low- and lower-middle income countries’... Read More »
Rubio introduces legislation designating Taliban as terrorist organization
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) joined forces in introducing legislation directing the U.S. Secretary of State to designate the Afghan Taliban as a terrorist organization. The... Read More »
BARDA Transatlantic Taskforce launches fourth phase to counter antimicrobial resistance
The fourth implementation phase of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority’s (BARDA) Transatlantic Taskforce for Antimicrobial Resistance (TATFAR) began this week, opening a new round of efforts to mobilize investment to fight growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). To... Read More »
New clinical data shows Moderna COVID-19 vaccine still highly effective against variants
According to new data from clinical trials highlighted by Moderna, Inc. this week, its debut COVID-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, continues to be highly effective against COVID-19, providing 96 percent efficacy against hospitalization and 87 percent against infection. The data -- from a study at Kaiser... Read More »
DOD funds earmarked for additional monoclonal antibodies doses
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company have secured Department of Defense (DOD) contracts to produce additional doses of monoclonal antibodies to block the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2. Authorities indicated the $3.2 billion total allotment is in coordination with the Department... Read More »
NTI research identifies lack of political will, attention to nuclear security
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 »
Graham, Waltz urge State Department to designate Taliban as terrorist organization
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) introduced resolutions Tuesday urging Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to designate the Afghan Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The resolution introduced into both chambers of Congress calls for freezing the Government of... Read More »
WHO, global health leaders in plea for accelerated vaccination efforts in Africa and abroad
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 »
DHS funds earmarked for UAS counter research
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has earmarked over $1 million for research on countering potential unmanned aerial systems (UAS) threats. The funding allotment to the University of North Dakota (UND) stemmed from the efforts of Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) as a member of the Senate Homeland... Read More »
BARDA taps procurement option for approximately $112.5 million of SIGA oral smallpox treatment
Through a contract with SIGA Technologies, Inc., the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has exercised a procurement option to obtain approximately $112.5 million worth of the oral TPOXX smallpox treatment this year. TPOXX is an orally administered and IV formulation... Read More »
Maryland lawmakers applaud FEMA grant for public health emergency preparedness
A group of Maryland lawmakers applauded President Joe Biden for granting their request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for federal disaster assistance through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). U.S. Reps. John Sarbanes (D-MD), Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), Dutch Ruppersberger... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions, Providence Therapeutics sign development, manufacturing agreement for COVID-19 vaccine
Gaithersburg, Md.-based Emergent BioSolutions Inc. and Canadian vaccine company Providence Therapeutics said on Tuesday they have entered into a $90 million, five-year development and manufacturing agreement to support Providence’s COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine candidate. Already... Read More »
Lawmakers urge Biden to reduce role of nuclear weapons
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and other Congress members urged President Joe Biden to limit the role of nuclear weapons in the country’s national security. In a letter to the President, the group pointed to Biden’s longstanding commitment to reducing the role of nuclear weapons, and... Read More »
Boeing tests advanced missile defense system
Boeing officials joined Missile Defense Agency (MDA) personnel in touting the recent successful demonstration of an advanced interceptor capability for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. The exercise would assist in achieving the overarching goal of defending the nation from... Read More »
Bechtel details chemical weapons destruction campaign
Bechtel officials said the engineering, construction and project management company recently destroyed the final inventory of projectiles containing mustard agent. The company's Kentucky team initiated the third of five chemical weapons destruction initiatives completed at the Blue Grass... Read More »
Biden plans global COVID response summit as lawmakers call for increased vaccine aid
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 »
NY Gov. Hochul announces $40 million Biodefense Commercialization Fund
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that her state would open up a $40 million Biodefense Commercialization Fund to support the state’s growing Life Science industry. The fund would provide grants to companies within the state working to bring to market infectious disease solutions... Read More »
Novavax launches Phase 1/2 trial to chart immunogenicity, safety of combo-COVID-19 and flu vaccine
Novavax, Inc. began enrollment last week of the first participants for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a combination vaccine formed from the company’s seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. Each vaccine has already been tested in solo clinical trials up... Read More »
Public Health AmeriCorps launched by AmeriCorps and CDC to invest in public health experts
With the COVID-19 pandemic as a constant reminder of the importance of public health efforts, AmeriCorps and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week announced a joint recruitment and training effort for public health experts known as Public Health AmeriCorps. That program... Read More »
KBR touts successful air defense system demonstration
Global technology firm KBR is espousing the benefits of its recent successful demonstration of its Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) Combat Shoot-Off (CSO) system. Army soldiers executed a series of vignettes demonstrating laser-equipped Stryker capabilities against... Read More »
Moderna signs multi-year COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing agreement with National Resilience
Under the terms of a new, multi-year agreement reached this week between Moderna and National Resilience, National Resilience will produce mRNA for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines at its Mississauga, Ontario facility. “Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine has saved countless lives, and we’re excited... Read More »
COVAX predicts 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine in first quarter 2022, calls for further support
In its latest Supply Forecast, the multilateral vaccine equity program COVAX announced expectations of 1.425 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines available this year, with 2 billion doses available for delivery in the first quarter of 2022 -- a milestone, but still a lagging figure. Resulting from... Read More »
Sandia National Lab designs modular radiation monitors for U.S. ports
Sandia National Laboratory’s 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 »
Lawmakers lament Taliban cabinet appointments
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 »
DHS Secretary says Afghan refugee surge won’t detract from international terrorism fight
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas assured Thursday the growing effort to combat domestic terrorism and the mass influx of Afghan refugees will not distract the agency from its ongoing efforts to guard against attacks from international terrorism. Speaking at the National Press Club... Read More »
Homeland Security chemists invent test for detecting cyanide exposure during fires
In the hunt for a solution to one of burning buildings’ most dangerous effects, chemists from the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC) have created a test that could help firefighters identify whether civilians have been exposed to toxic... Read More »
Legislation introduced in House to set five year, presidentially appointed term for CISA director
A group of United States representatives introduced the CISA Leadership Act this week, a bill that proposes to codify a five year term for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) director and reaffirm the position as presidentially appointed, but Senate confirmed. While CISA... Read More »
Report: 20 years after 9/11, America still not fully prepared for public health emergencies
A new report from Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) has found that 20 years after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, America is not fully prepared for public health emergencies. The report, 2021 Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases,... Read More »
Measure targets U.S-Israel AI development
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 »
Caucus targets U.S.-spearheaded global vaccination effort
A group of lawmakers launched the COVID-19 Global Vaccination Caucus, which they said would advocate for vaccines as a means of ending the COVID-19 pandemic. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) along with... Read More »
DoD uses option to acquire 200,000 doses of Valneva’s Japanese encephalitis vaccine
As part of a contract signed with Valneva SE last year, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) has decided to utilize an option that will increase supply of the company’s Japanese encephalitis vaccine, IXIARO, to a minimum of 200,000 doses. Japanese encephalitis is a deadly infectious... Read More »
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense lauds Biden’s Pandemic Preparedness Plan, but urges more funding
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense last week applauded the Biden Administration’s work on a new $65.3 billion American Pandemic Preparedness Plan for investments to combat the next biological threat, though it argues that greater funding is necessary to make sufficient plans. The White... Read More »
House Armed Services Committee advances bill to give D.C. mayor control over D.C. National Guard
In a national first, the House Armed Services Committee voted last week in favor of a bill that would grant the mayor of the District of Columbia authority over the D.C. National Guard, adding that provision to the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. Since its inception, the D.C. National... Read More »