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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) announced that two tests to detect the COVID-19 coronavirus are in development.
The tests would be able to produce results in approximately one hour.
The Biomedical... Read More »
World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Foundation officials said the newly launched (COVID-19) Solidarity Response Fund would raise funds from donors to aid countries responding to the pandemic.
The endeavor, created by the WHO, the United Nations Foundation, and the Swiss... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) - International Mail Facility (IMF) officers recently seized suspected counterfeit COVID-19 test kits from the United Kingdom.
On March 12, officers discovered six plastic bags containing various vials... Read More »
Recently advanced by the House, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) has so far run the bipartisan gamut to ease the economic toll of the novel coronavirus outbreak, but health experts warn its proposed coverage leaves new developers and patients in the lurch.
While the bill... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its fourth COVID-19 related diagnostic Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) this week, tapping Thermo Fisher for its TaqPath diagnostic test.
The TaqPath Combo Kit contains both assays and controls necessary to detect RNA from the SARS-CoV-2 virus... Read More »
Democratic U.S. senators made the request last week for President Donald Trump to immediately consider any disaster declarations invoked by governors under the Stafford Act.
This action would grant states access to additional resources necessary to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.... Read More »
A revealing study from The Lancet, published last week, revealed previously unknown details of the first case of person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 -- the cause of COVID-19 -- in the United States.
In this case, a woman who had recently traveled to China transmitted the infection to her... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said the agency has introduced biometric facial comparison technology at John F. Kennedy International Airport Terminal 4 to secure and streamline international travel.
“CBP and its partners are implementing facial comparison technology to provide... Read More »
As testing backlogs grow across the U.S., Hackensack Meridian Health of New Jersey announced last week that its Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) has created a rapid diagnostic for COVID-19 capable of reducing test times to mere hours.
The test allows the health network to quarantine... Read More »
President Donald Trump on Friday declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency, a move that will allow the federal government to tap into billions of dollars in aid to help combat the spread of the virus.
The national emergency declaration will allow up to $50 billion in government... Read More »
House Democrats introduced legislation to bolster the federal government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak for families.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides paid leave, establishes free coronavirus testing, supports strong unemployment benefits, expands food assistance... Read More »
Virginia, Connecticut, and Colorado are the three states that are most prepared for public health and natural disasters, according to a new study by QuoteWizard, an online insurance marketplace.
The report evaluated six factors from Trust for America's Health report, "Ready or Not: Protecting... Read More »
Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus officials said the body has crafted a landmark policy framework designed to enhance the nation’s defenses against cyberthreats while mitigating vulnerabilities.
The Cyberspace Solarium Commission Report outlines recommendations for reforms to organize... Read More »
As the federal government ratchets up its response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have announced plans to release more than $560 million in response support funding to state and local authorities.
"Our state, local, tribal, and... Read More »
Strategies including social distancing, telework and avoiding large crowds should be practiced by all Americans, including members of Congress, to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, said top federal health officials during a reconvened hearing on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
Really sick... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced Wednesday that it is adding to the list of potential novel coronavirus treatments by beginning work on two plasma-derived candidates meant to treat and prevent COVID-19 and its cause, SARS-CoV-2.
Both products, COVID-HIG and COVID-EIG, will be developed on... Read More »
A group of U.S. Senators recently asked the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the three largest private prison operators about the procedures they have in place to manage a potential spread of the coronavirus in federal prisons.
Over 175,000 individuals are incarcerated in federal prisons and... Read More »
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this week that it will continue to forego most foreign inspections through April, due to ongoing coronavirus concerns -- the same concerns that have prompted Congressional leaders to inquire about potential impacts to the medical product supply... Read More »
Building off of the momentum embodied in an $8.3 billion emergency funding package approved earlier this month, House Democrats have introduced legislation meant to guarantee health care facilities have exposure control plans in place to protect workers from COVID-19.
The COVID-19 Worker... Read More »
Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), on Wednesday confirmed his duties as the top emergency preparedness official coordinating the COVID-19 coronavirus response from both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the federal... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic, making it the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus.
Though WHO had already determined the novel coronavirus a matter of the highest risk globally, the new declaration ended weeks of questioning and... Read More »
Sandia National Laboratories has joined forces with the Council on Strategic Risks to launch an initiative to make bioweapons obsolete.
The two organizations have released a report called “Making Bioweapons Obsolete: A Summary of Workshop Discussions. It makes recommendations for significantly... Read More »
A bill that seeks to develop treatment and a cure for the COVID-19 coronavirus was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
The Cure the Coronavirus Act (HR 6019) encourages the rapid innovation and approval of a treatment to prevent or cure the 2019 coronavirus. The World... Read More »
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) recently conducted a roundtable discussion with federal, state, and local public health officials regarding the coordinated response to the coronavirus outbreak.
“I am grateful to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Illinois Department of Public Health,... Read More »
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials have forwarded warning correspondence to seven companies for allegedly selling unapproved products that include deceptive coronavirus claims.
“There already is a high level of anxiety over the potential spread of... Read More »
Those infected by SARS-CoV-2 -- the newly identified virus which causes COVID-19 -- could walk around without symptoms for an average of five days, but as many as 12, according to new U.S.-based research.
Through analysis of cases from China and abroad, the team determined that anyone still... Read More »
A new molecular diagnostic test created by Hologic, Inc. to quickly identify the virus that causes COVID-19 will receive advanced development support from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The test could theoretically be attached to a system capable of... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. on Tuesday agreed to support both preclinical testing and phase 1 safety trials for a novel coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by Novavax Inc., a clinical-stage vaccine company.
“We are pleased with our Novavax collaboration, which reflects Emergent’s... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) are urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to unlock emergency funds allocated for state and local governments to deal with the coronavirus.
The emergency funding was allocated in an $8.5 billion supplemental spending... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is looking for companies that develop technology that enhances privacy.
It’s for a first-time event called the 2020 Privacy Technology Demonstration, a showcase for technologies intended to protect the... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) welcomed this week a £20 million ($26.2 million) investment from the U.K. government while highlighting the need for upwards of $2 billion to develop a vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19.
CEPI, a global partnership dedicated to the... Read More »
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) recently updated a broad agency announcement to solicit new medical products capable of diagnosing, preventing, or treating coronavirus infections, with an eye on COVID-19.
BARDA, as part of the Department of Health and Human... Read More »
The House of Representatives has advanced a bill designed to extend Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) equal rights and protections provided other workers under Title 5 of the U.S. Code.
Reps. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) sponsored the Rights for Transportation Security... Read More »
A bipartisan bill that would establish a framework for overseeing diagnostic testing at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Public health officials have long called for greater oversight of diagnostic testing. Health care providers and... Read More »
Members of Congress from Maryland met with defense department officials last week to discuss funding for the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD).
The meeting was precipitated... Read More »
