Emerging Infectious Diseases
It is past time for a national COVID-19 vaccine plan from the Trump administration, according to House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders so that the country can plan for development, manufacturing, distribution, training, and education linked to these efforts, along with broad vaccine... Read More »
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) are seeking information regarding the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) preparedness in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The legislators recently forwarded correspondence to Admiral Karl Schultz, expressing concern the pandemic could threaten... Read More »
A group of Republican senators introduced legislation requires national security evaluation and clearance for all Chinese student visa holders taking part in activities related to COVID-19 vaccine research.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Protection Act – sponsored by Sens. Martha McSally (R-AZ), Rick... Read More »
Air Force officials have launched a new initiative designed to keep the branch’s supply chain system independent of the civilian medical market amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Air Force Rapid Agile Manufacturing Platform (AFRAMP) seeks to leverage the full capacity of the nation's... Read More »
Through its COVID-Local site, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) has released a guide of new metrics meant to guide local leaders and state officials in safely reopening the United States.
The site now includes interactive graphics and downloadable PDFs, meant to aid assessment of existing... Read More »
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators have moved against dozens of supposed COVID-19 antibody tests that have never been shown to work, publishing a list of those that failed to file applications or have already pulled their products voluntarily.
There are 28 on that list so far,... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has begun distributing billions in additional relief funds to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nursing homes have faced unique challenges as their population of high-risk seniors are more vulnerable to... Read More »
Recognizing the dangers presented by COVID-19 to the elderly and immunocompromised in particular, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has partnered with VitalConnect to create a wearable monitor that could provide early warning signs and improve patient... Read More »
Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a teleconference forum former director of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to improve its readiness for events like COVID-19 pandemic.
The Strategic National Stockpile is a federal resource designed to supplement state and local... Read More »
AstraZeneca has reached first agreements for at least 400 million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, including 300 million for the United States.
First shipments will begin rolling out to the U.K. in September, then the United States in October. The... Read More »
Mount Sinai Health System and Renalytix AI have formed Kantaro Biosciences, LLC, as a means of developing, producing, and distributing a COVID-19 testing kit based on Mount Sinai’s high-performance serologic assay for antibodies.
The test kits hunt for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and are usable in... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced new legislation this week that would end the sale of wildlife species within live animal markets deemed high-risk for human consumption.
Tied to previous outbreaks of human diseases, such markets have gained increasing scrutiny... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators, including Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), sent a letter to President Donald Trump regarding the COVID-19 Testing Blueprint that the Administration recently released.
The blueprint includes plans to expand state testing capacity and establish... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently called on the Trump administration officials to help secure personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing kits for firefighters and federal law enforcement personnel charged with fighting wildfires.
“Peak fire season comes closer every day. However, it is... Read More »
A pair of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers are part of a three-institution team funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to further develop a tularemia vaccine.
Nick Fischer and Amy Rasley will collaborate with University of New Mexico and Tulane National... Read More »
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins co-wrote an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that a swift, coordinated effort across many sectors of society is necessary to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The article – co-written by Collins and... Read More »
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is awarding $11 billion in funding to support COVID-19 testing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will provide $10.25 billion to states, territories, and local jurisdictions through its Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for... Read More »
With an underwritten public offering of $1.25 billion in shares of common stock, Moderna, Inc. hopes to entice buyers to raise funds for the manufacturing of mRNA-1273, the company’s vaccine candidate for use on SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus responsible for COVID-19.
Additionally, underwriters will... Read More »
In an effort to counter potential medical shortages, the United States federal government has awarded $354 million to the Phlow Corporation, with an eye on advanced manufacturing of essential medicines.
In all, that contract could stretch up to $812 million, thanks to a four-year base award of... Read More »
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) said the agencies have trained over 10,000 individuals nationwide in COVID-19 contact tracing.
The effort seeks to support ongoing state and local public health agencies in preparing... Read More »
The Trump administration appointed last week Dr. Moncef Slaoui and U.S. Army General Gustave F. Perna to lead the advancement of Operation Warp Speed, a program to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 medical countermeasures.
Slaoui, a former Chairman of both... Read More »
Research conducted last month by scientists from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Oxford showed promise for the investigational SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, at least when used on rhesus macaques.
The vaccine, which was created by the University of Oxford Jenner... Read More »
The leaders of Costa Rica and Chile, working with the World Health Organization (WHO), are spearheading an effort to create a technology platform that aims to lift access barriers to effective vaccines, medicines, and other health products against COVID-19.
“Our proposal relies on... Read More »
A bipartisan group of Senators introduced May 15 legislation designed to strengthen the nation’s bioeconomy.
The Bioeconomy Research and Development Act of 2020 seeks to advance research and development, advance biomanufacturing, develop the future bioeconomy workforce, and support various... Read More »
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) started last week a clinical trial to evaluate if a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin could treat COVID-19 in mild or moderate cases.
Adults meeting that description can express interest in participating by email.... Read More »
Another COVID-19 is being investigated for faults, resulting in the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to warn people that the Abbott ID NOW point-of-care test may return inaccurate, false negative results.
The warning stems from some scientific studies that have identified... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) are asking officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the steps taken to further protect food production workers from the coronavirus.
There have been a series of COVID-19 outbreaks in food production... Read More »
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have issued a warning to organizations conducting research on the COVID-19 pandemic.
These agencies are warning that healthcare researchers are prime targets from fraudsters from the... Read More »
Concerned about the level of transparency being provided by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over the distribution of the antiviral remdesivir, senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee are pressing for information.
Remdesivir is a therapeutic... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) released this week a predictive modeling tool intended to chart the downfall of COVID-19 under natural conditions.
Specifically, the tool tracks the natural decay of SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID-19 --... Read More »
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a $3 trillion aid package that would provide relief for Americans, fund COVID-19 testing, and bolster state and local health infrastructure and funding, among other initiatives.
The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions... Read More »
The U.S. Departments of Defense (DoD) and Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a $138 million contract to ApiJect Systems America for Project Jumpstart and RAPID USA, two programs designed to expand U.S. production of medical-grade injection devices.
The contract will create a U.S.-based... Read More »
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has requested four government agencies combine efforts to allocate personal protective equipment (PPE) and rapid COVID-19 tests for federal wildland fire crews.
Murkowski recently forwarded correspondence to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the... Read More »
Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) recently awarded up to $6.2 million to the infectious disease diagnostics firm Day Zero Diagnostics to accelerate early research of and develop treatments for superbug infections.
“There has never been a more... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced an additional $384 million investment into Novavax Inc. this week, as a means of accelerating development and manufacture of its NVX-CoV2373 COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
This extends ongoing collaboration between the two... Read More »
