Threats
Republicans on House E&C Committee urge NIH to join investigation into COVID-19 origins
Pointing the finger firmly at China in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee have written to the National Institutes of Health, urging its experts to join them in an independent investigation of the disease’s origins. As the... Read More »
IDSA, health partners call on House leaders to increase federal investments for antimicrobial resistance fight
Warning that antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest public health threats of the age, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and several partner organizations wrote to House leaders last week urging them to create a comprehensive One Health approach to counter the rising... Read More »
U.S. Department of Commerce to expand restrictions on Russian exports in response to poisoning
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced Wednesday that it will expand its export restrictions on Russia in response to a March 2, 2021, determination by the Secretary of State that the country’s government had used chemical or biological weapons against... Read More »
Agencies release domestic violent extremism report findings
Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) personnel have released an unclassified summary assessing domestic violent extremism. The National Counterterrorism Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and DHS... Read More »
FBI report assesses 2020 internet crimes
The FBI's recently released 2020 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) annual report, the top three crimes reported by victims in last year were phishing scams, non-payment/non-delivery scams, and extortion. Authorities indicated the report stems from 791,790 complaints of suspected internet... Read More »
WHO, EMA reaffirm safety of AstraZeneca vaccine following EU suspensions
Following the suspension of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine by several European countries this week, owing to reports of rare types of blood clots emerging among the vaccinated, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that vaccinations continue. While the European Union suspensions... Read More »
FDA grants first marketing authorization for a COVID-19 diagnostic test beyond current emergency
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted this week marketing authorization of the BioFire Respiratory Panel 2.1, allowing it to become the first SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic able to be marketed past the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. BioFire Respiratory Panel 2.1 is a test by BioFire Diagnostics... Read More »
Moderna announces first doses of COVID-19 vaccine being tested on children
Moderna announced Tuesday that it has started its study of the COVID-19 vaccine in children. Called the KidCOVE study, Moderna began Phase 2/3 of its study by administering the vaccine in children from 6 months to less than 12 years of age. The study is being done in collaboration with the... Read More »
DHS, other agencies assess federal election integrity
Department of Homeland Security personnel recently joined the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in assessing findings regarding federal election integrity. The findings from a joint report to the President issued... Read More »
Bill seeks to create federal penalties for criminals targeting law enforcement
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) joined 16 colleagues to introduce this week legislation designed to create federal penalties for individuals deliberately targeting local, state, or federal law enforcement officers with violence. The Protect and Serve Act would make it a federal crime to knowingly cause,... Read More »
Roche releases test for SARS-CoV-2 variants
Roche recently announced the launch of a new cobas SARS-CoV-2 Variant Set 1 Test to detect and differentiate between viral variants, recognizing the growing prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as those first seen in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil. “Viruses naturally evolve... Read More »
AstraZeneca reaches agreement with U.S. government to supply up to 500,000 additional COVID-19 antibody treatment doses
AstraZeneca announced plans this week to supply up to 500,000 additional doses of AZD7442, an under-development, long-acting antibody combination meant for use against COVID-19, modifying an existing agreement with the U.S. government. Specifically, the agreement was reached with the Departments... Read More »
GAO: CISA needs organizational changes for more effective cybersecurity
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that until the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) fully implements its organization plan, it may put the country at risk for identifying and responding to cyberattacks. The GAO said legislation in 2018 elevated... Read More »
Sens. Collins, Menendez introduce legislation to establish COVID-19 Commission
Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) are advocating legislation that would create a COVID-19 Commission modeled after a similar panel that examined the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The National Coronavirus Commission Act of 2021 would establish an independent, non-partisan... Read More »
Sanofi, Translate Bio begin Phase 1/2 trial of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine paralleling preclinical efforts
Sanofi Pasteur and Translate Bio launched a Phase 1/2 clinical trial last week for an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate known as MRT5500, hoping for interim results in the third quarter of 2021. The united efforts of the vaccine and mRNA therapeutics companies include parallel preclinical studies... Read More »
Moderna begins Phase 1 study dosing for new, refrigerator stable COVID-19 mRNA vaccine
The first candidates were dosed this week as part of a phase one study of mRNA-1283, a new mRNA COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna, Inc. Unlike its predecessor, which has proved highly effective against the original strain of the virus, this new vaccine candidate is meant to solve a major hiccup to... Read More »
AstraZeneca defends safety of COVID-19 vaccine after countries suspend use
Drugmaker AstraZeneca defended the safety of its COVID-19 vaccine after three more European countries said they would suspend the use of the vaccine. Over the weekend, Germany, Ireland, and The Netherlands announced they would stop using the vaccine temporarily over concerns about the vaccine's... Read More »
WHO praises progression of ACT-Accelerator initiative
World Health Organization (WHO) officials recently touted the progression of the ACT- Accelerator, noting the initiative has driven progress to accelerate the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative was initiated in April 2020 by the WHO, the European Commission, France, and The Bill &... Read More »
Novavax COVID-19 vaccine demonstrates 96 percent efficacy against original strain, 55 percent against South African strain
Results are in from the latest trials of NVX-CoV2373, Novavax, Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and while it only provided 55.4 percent efficacy in a region beset by the South African variant, it displayed 96.4 percent efficacy against the original strain and 86.3 percent against the United... Read More »
Sen. Feinstein, Rep. Cicilline introduce assault weapons ban
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced last week the Assault Weapons Ban, which would ban the sale, transfer, manufacture, and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. “It’s been 17 years since the original... Read More »
Lawmakers initiate southern border inquiry
A group of lawmakers forwarded correspondence last week to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel regarding southern border circumstances. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) spearheaded the effort to address the agency's, citing reports of illegal... Read More »
Mayo Clinic determines mRNA COVID-19 vaccines greatly reduce risks of asymptomatic infection, spread
In a study funded by the Mayo Clinic and published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases last week, researchers determined that after two doses of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19, asymptomatic patients are less likely to be infected and unknowingly spread the virus. After two doses of mRNA... Read More »
Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine gains crucial EU, WHO approvals
The single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will be available in more places worldwide now, thanks to a conditional marketing authorization granted by the European Commission and emergency use authorization from the World Health Organization (WHO). The decisions followed similar approval... Read More »
Rep. Raskin asks FBI to brief Congress on White Supremacists in law enforcement
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, wants the FBI to brief Congress on the infiltration of white supremacists in law enforcement. In a letter to the FBI sent Wednesday, Raskin questioned why the FBI repeatedly told his subcommittee last... Read More »
Sens. Van Hollen, Murray introduce bill to improve public health infrastructure
Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate this week by Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Patty Murray (D-WA) seeks to strengthen the public health infrastructure and enhance the nation’s ability to respond to COVID-19 and other public health challenges. The Public Health Infrastructure Saves... Read More »
NIH touts mosquito protein study benefits
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is espousing the benefits of an AEG 12 mosquito protein study authorities said could help develop treatments to combat life-threatening viruses. Researchers at the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) used X-ray crystallography... Read More »
Resolution condemns Iranian nuclear weapon pursuits
A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently introduced a resolution condemning Iran's nuclear weapon pursuits. Reps. Elaine Luria (D-VA), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Peter Meijer (R-MI), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Brad Schneider (D-IL) joined the resolution in the wake of Iran’s... Read More »
Measure seeks to bolster firearms purchasing laws
Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), and John Cornyn (R-TX) reintroduced a bill designed to aid states in enforcing existing laws against individuals attempting to purchase firearms by lying on background checks. The NICS Denial Notification Act would require federal authorities to... Read More »
Moderna doses first of 60 participants in COVID-19 booster vaccine study
A study focused on determining whether patients would benefit from a booster for the Moderna, Inc. COVID-19 vaccine has enrolled and dosed its first participants this week. Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is currently in use across the U.S. and has shown high efficacy against the original... Read More »
CEPI proposes joint, global $3.5B plan to invest in pandemic preparedness
Building on its efforts during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has proposed a $3.5 billion plan to reduce or eliminate future pandemic and epidemic risk through preparedness investment over the next five years. The organization has sought... Read More »
Johns Hopkins scholar testifies before Maryland legislature on gene synthesis
A professor from Johns Hopkins Center for Health and Security testified before the Maryland General Assembly on the certification of gene synthesis providers and manufacturers of gene synthesis equipment. Dr. Gigi Gronvall -- senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and... Read More »
Battelle’s assays play role in assessing COVID-19 vaccines
Research and development company Battelle announced Tuesday that it had developed a microneutralization assay that uses live SARS-CoV-2 virus to analyze the neutralizing response against the virus in human serum samples. The assay allows the company to test samples from vaccine clinical trials.... Read More »
Lawmakers advocate preventing Iran’s nuclear capabilities
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) is among lawmakers encouraging the Biden administration to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapon capabilities. Joyce joined other legislators in forwarding correspondence to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, focusing on three areas of concern: Iran’s nuclear... Read More »
Lawmakers seek USDA Intelligence Office
A group of lawmakers introduced legislation designed to establish an Office of Intelligence within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Agricultural Intelligence Measures (AIM) Act was introduced by Reps. Rick Crawford (R-AR), Rick Allen (R-GA), Don Bacon (R-NE), Jim Baird (R-IN), Troy... Read More »