Emerging Infectious Diseases
AI innovation enables COVID-19 conspiracy theory tracking
Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers are espousing the benefits of a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of identifying COVID-19-related conspiracy theories on social media. The AI models how the conspiracy theories evolved and how they could someday help public health officials... Read More »
NIH invests $155M into Phase 3 clinical trial for repurposing drugs to treat COVID-19 symptoms
Several over-the-counter drugs could potentially find new lives treating COVID-19 symptoms, as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this week that $155 million would be invested into a phase three trial of up to seven self-administered medications to that end. It will be a... Read More »
Biden administration lays out $1.7B plan to fight COVID-19 variants as part of American Rescue Plan
In response to the $1.7 billion investment tacked onto the American Rescue Plan to address COVID-19 variants, the Biden administration last week released a plan to rapidly invest those funds into genomic sequencing, innovation partnerships, and a new health data infrastructure. From the total,... Read More »
INOVIO vaccine candidate maintains antibody response against COVID-19 variants
Amid rising fears that variants of COVID-19 may already be reducing the efficacy of vaccines, INOVIO provided some good news last week, with news that its vaccine candidate produced neutralizing antibodies and T cell responses against all three major variant strains. INO-4800, a DNA vaccine... Read More »
GAO: USAID, CDC spent $1B to assess countries’ abilities to address infectious disease threats
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office has found the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spent nearly $1 billion assessing whether other countries’ capacity to address infectious disease threats before the... Read More »
New FDA guidance stresses necessary role of remote drug facility oversight during pandemic
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released new guidance this week to clarify how it will request and conduct remote interactive evaluations during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, noting how critical such evaluations will be to operations. This was meant for any FDA-regulated facilities,... Read More »
NIAID funds $24M CEIRR program to fuel influenza research network
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) will invest approximately $24 million into the first year of contracts for the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) to aid a network of research sites investigating influenza. These institutions cover... Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Emergent BioSolutions on track to meet all COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing commitments
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. reported this week that it is on schedule to meet all manufacturing commitments related to COVID-19 vaccines, and that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has increased its original task order by $23 million. The funding injection from... Read More »
BARDA, Janssen expand Phase 2a trial of COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents
An ongoing Phase 2a trial of a Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies-developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been expanded to include adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17. While there are still no approved COVID-19 vaccines for children, cases of COVID-19 in children have generally been less... Read More »
HHS launches vaccine public education campaign
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a new public education campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and increase confidence in the vaccines. The department will create a nationwide network of trusted voices – local voices people know and... Read More »
HHS initiates COVID-19 mask design contest
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has initiated a COVID-19 mask design competition, with officials touting a total award of $500,000 available to winning entries. “We know that properly and consistently worn face masks help reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory... Read More »
Legislation to provide greater oversight of federal prisons’ COVID-19 efforts reintroduced to Congress
U.S. Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA) and U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) recently reintroduced the Federal Correctional Facilities COVID-19 Response Act to revise the prison system’s COVID-19 response. “The COVID-19 outbreaks at federal prisons across the... Read More »
NIH begins Phase 1 clinical trial to test Moderna COVID-19 variant vaccine
Although it already has a successful COVID-19 vaccine in circulation, Moderna is developing a vaccine designed to address the troubling South African variant of the disease (B.1.351), and as of last week, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began a phase one trial to evaluate it. Known as... Read More »
HSI, partners warn consumers of COVID-19 post-vaccine survey scam
Homeland Security Investigations, a division of the Department of Justice, is warning U.S. citizens about a scam targeting vulnerable consumers with promises of gifts and cash in exchange for participating in fraudulent post-vaccination surveys. The fraudulent surveys are used to illegally... Read More »
TSA Surge Capacity Force helps FEMA administer vaccines
Members of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workforce are helping the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) pandemic response by volunteering to help at community vaccination centers. The volunteers are part of TSA’s Surge Capacity Force (SCF), a program for federal... Read More »
NIRVANA diagnostic capable of diagnosing, sequencing COVID-19, variants and other viruses
Clinicians have created a portable test -- dubbed NIRVANA -- capable of detecting and sequencing COVID-19, its variants, and other viruses in mere moments, according to data published in the journal Med. Primarily, the test cuts out the need for extra diagnostics and middlemen. "This is a... Read More »