Emerging Infectious Diseases
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 »
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) pressed the Trump administration this week to secure the medical supplies necessary to help immunize Americans against COVID-19 once such a vaccine is created.
These include things like needles, syringes, or other delivery devices. Such supplies have been compromised... Read More »
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Ports of Entry working within the Baltimore Field Office seized several shipments of counterfeit and unapproved coronavirus personal protective equipment (PPE) and pharmaceuticals.
Since March 23, CBP officers at the ports in Philadelphia,... Read More »
Several Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are asking Attorney General William Barr for a briefing on legal action the Department of Justice has taken – or has threatened to take -- against state governments that have imposed strict public health and safety restrictions to combat... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week moved to further development of prevention and treatment options for COVID-19 by providing new guidance with recommendations for innovators and researchers.
The FDA previously launched the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program to help... Read More »
While many vaccine and treatment prospects have been put forward for dealing with COVID-19, health experts from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have advised in a new Science-published paper that a collaborative strategy for testing, scale-up, and distribution of candidates is... Read More »
Top U.S. health officials testified before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Tuesday, discussing the potential for future response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for and capabilities of testing, and the dangers of reopening workplaces and schools too... Read More »
U.S. Senate Democrats introduced legislation to provide an additional $9 billion to support international efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 International Response and Recovery Act (CIRRA) seeks to compel the Trump Administration to engage with other countries and... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory for its COVID-19 laboratory developed test (LDT).
The action allows the testing of samples self-collected by patients at home using the Spectrum Solutions LLC... Read More »
Under a plan finalized on May 3, 607,000 vials of the drug remdesivir were donated for use in United States hospitals hosting COVID-19 patients by the drug’s creator, Gilead Sciences, Inc.
These shipments began to roll out on May 7, packed into cases and dispatched to Connecticut (30 cases),... Read More »
Remdesivir has been shown to shorten the recovery time for patients suffering from COVID-19, and as a result, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has begun a clinical trial to see how it fairs when paired with the anti-inflammatory baricitinib.
“We now have solid... Read More »
The United States’ preparedness and response capabilities have buckled under the stress of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and proactive work is needed to meet the next infectious disease before it strikes, said experts during the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense May 8 virtual... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate that would expand national service programs like AmeriCorps to help the United States recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Pandemic Response and Opportunity Through National Service Act would provide funding for 750,000 national service positions over... Read More »
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials said employees must wear facial protection while at screening checkpoints to minimize COVID-19 spread and raise the airport environment's overall health and safety level.
“TSA is making this change to protect our employees and travelers as... Read More »
As more of the country reopened for business, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) used a recent Senate Health Committee hearing to press top health officials on the need for rapidly developing and scaling up production of COVID-19 tests and supplies.
The hearing, titled Shark Tank: New Tests for... Read More »
Nearly $583 million has been dispatched to 1,385 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-funded health centers throughout the United States and its territories to bolster COVID-19 testing, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week.
“Widespread... Read More »
Representatives from private industry and the federal government have joined forces to combat fraud and other illegal activity surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Homeland Security Investigations National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) is working with... Read More »
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials said the agency has updated guidance regarding distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) to VA health care workers assisting veterans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Ensuring our VA health care workers’ safety during this global pandemic must... Read More »
Beginning October 2020, the U.S. government will benefit from an additional 26 million N95 medical-grade masks per month, as part of a new deal struck between the Department of Defense (DoD) and 3M.
The $126 million contract was funded through the CARES Act, which was passed by Congress and... Read More »
Siemens Smart Infrastructure this week released the Siveillance Thermal Shield, a product capable of rapid, contactless temperature measurement at building entry points, as a means of adding potential illness tracking to general security.
The package consists of thermal imaging cameras capable... Read More »
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health expect to shortly begin two trials of convalescent plasma – plasma taken from recovered COVID-19 patients – next week, with an eye on reducing hospital strain and helping both high-risk populations and those getting sick at... Read More »
Clinical trials on four potential vaccine candidates to prevent infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.
The first U.S. patients have been dosed in a clinical trial conducted by Pfizer and BioNTech. They are being held at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the University of... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) will introduce a bill that would create a new agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Medical Command (NMC).
This new independent agency would be charged with preparing for, monitoring, and responding to pandemics. Further, it would... Read More »
One of the areas the United States has struggled with during the COVID-19 pandemic is testing capacity, but now, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is moving to expand testing, testing sites and supplies, and federal reimbursement efforts.
All of this is meant to be in line with the... Read More »
The search for potential COVID-19 vaccines continues, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has issued a call for proposals that could put funds in the hands of organizations with plans to boost development, manufacturing and geographic reach of vaccine candidates.
The... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said the recent inspection of express-consignment shipments at the Rochester New York Airport yielded seizure of counterfeit COVID-19 test kits.
“I’m proud of the continued efforts of our CBP officers here in Rochester,” Rochester Port Director... Read More »
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced legislation to fund the increased production of health care equipment in the fight against COVID-19.
The Emergency Medical Supplies Procurement Act would provide $75 billion for the Trump administration to purchase or manufacture... Read More »
Northern Arizona University researchers have developed computer modeling systems designed to predict outcomes of the regional spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.
The approach is being implemented across Coconino, Navajo, Apache, and Mohave counties in response to the Flagstaff... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is collaborating with the Mayo Clinic on an expanded access program that will get patients hospitalized with COVID-19 access to convalescent plasma.
Convalescent plasma’s use is built on the idea that those who recover from... Read More »
The first American participants in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of the BNT162 vaccine program, created by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, have been dosed as the companies ramp up manufacturing capabilities to meet 2020/2021 capacity needs.
That vaccine is meant to treat COVID-19, the disease that... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to Roche for its Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19, antibody test.
The test is designed to help determine if a patient has been exposed to the virus and if the patient has developed antibodies against... Read More »
Reps. Ami Bera (D-CA) and Ted S. Yoho (R-FL) recently forwarded correspondence to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, stating that America should participate in and lead global initiatives to coordinate COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution.
“The U.S. should consider participating in the... Read More »
Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) introduced Friday legislation initiating a $100 million grant program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to mobilize coronavirus testing and contact tracing.
COVID-19 Testing, Reaching and Contacting Everyone (TRACE) Act grantees would... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently launched a national viral genomics consortium to better map the genome of SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic.
The SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing for Public Health Emergency Response, Epidemiology and Surveillance (SPHERES)... Read More »
