Public Health
Republican leaders on the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week queried the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Francis Collins, with more questions in the saga of the Chinese Wuhan Institute of Virology, its research and the origins of COVID-19.
Writers included... Read More »
With data from its Phase 3 COVE study showing a COVID-19 vaccine with 93 percent effectiveness, Moderna, Inc. has officially filed for a biologics license application (BLA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would lead to full licensure.
It’s an important step, which... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to divert a small percentage of military spending towards global vaccination efforts, vaccinating potentially an additional 30 percent of the world’s low-income population within a year.
The COVID Defense Act would... Read More »
Utilizing initial funding from the American Rescue Plan, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) unveiled plans this week for a new Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, focused on forecasts of disease outbreaks and analytics for public health.
The new center will be... Read More »
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this week that it will award approximately $53 million in annual funding across the next five years to 10 research organizations currently pursuing HIV cure research.
“June marked the 40th anniversary of the first reported U.S. cases of what... Read More »
Area Port of Memphis Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel said the agency routinely seizes low-quality, counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards.
This fiscal year, Memphis has initiated 121 seizures totaling 3,017 of the fake vaccination cards. The cards regularly contain typographical... Read More »
The more than 25,000 healthcare workers employed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19, adding it to a list of requirements that include influenza and other routine vaccinations.
“Our number one goal is the health and safety of... Read More »
Fearing for highly interdependent border communities, a bipartisan collection of U.S. representatives and senators have submitted legislation to strengthen multi-country cooperation to screen infectious diseases and support public health initiatives therein.
The Border Health Security Act (H.R.... Read More »
For the launch of the third series of the Virtual Whole-of-Government Research and Development (R&D) Showcase this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is looking to address upcoming scientific fields changing the world and how it handles... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and David Trone (D-MD) recently introduced a bill that seeks to protect law enforcement personnel and other first responders from lethal substances such as fentanyl.
The Protecting First Responders from Secondary Exposure Act would improve state and local government... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday to standardize opioid and substance abuse training for prescribers.
The Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act would require controlled substance providers to complete substance... Read More »
A new legislative effort is pushing for a new program to designate academic medical centers as research and communication hubs in the American preparation for and response to pandemics.
While COVID-19 is firmly in mind with the program, it also seeks to aid developments for fighting future... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regarding travel and mask guidance updates.
U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Amy Klobuchar... Read More »
A new policy brief released this week by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) assessed the role of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) during the COVID-19 pandemic and concluded that reforms are necessary both within the agency and beyond to improve federal pandemic... Read More »
Committee leadership for the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee announced that it would provide oversight and investigation of three new areas to improve the nation’s pandemic preparedness effort.
“More than 600,000 Americans have died as a result of... Read More »
The FirstNet network expanded the number of unthrottled, deployable network assets for fire, EMS, law enforcement, and other public safety personnel to more than 100 land-based and airborne portable cell sites as of last week.
“When disaster strikes, FirstNet is there to support first... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) officials are espousing the benefits of a four-part virtual content series highlighting research and threat preparation collaboration.
The Virtual Whole-of-Government R&D Showcase focuses on efforts to mobilize... Read More »
Stratatech Corporation and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) achieved major milestones this week with the announcement of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for StrataGraft, a treatment for adults with thermal burns.
Stratagraft is specifically... Read More »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) at 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11.
The WEA portion of the test will be sent only... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) announced this week that funding opportunities are available for research and development into 10 new first responder technology areas.
To that end, the agency is seeking documents from industry, academia,... Read More »
The White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released policy recommendations Tuesday to ensure the security of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chains.... Read More »
The newest White House budget proposal would put billions of dollars in funding toward public health, drug, and research initiatives, offering what the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) called the potential to return the United States to leadership in infectious disease responses.
At... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched its first venture capital public-private partnership dedicated to developing technologies and medical products for public health emergencies with the nonprofit Global Health Investment Corporation (GHIC).
“While we tackle the... Read More »
The Department of Defense (DoD) and Health and Human Services (HHS) have established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to partner in defeating COVID-19 while preparing for future public health emergencies.
The agreement establishes the framework of DoD continuing to support HHS with... Read More »
U.S Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced Thursday a bill to boost critical resources to help law enforcement officials in the war on drugs.
The Assisting Narcotics and Trafficking Officers in Interdicting (ANTI) Drugs Act would increase resources for the High Intensity Drug... Read More »
With the reintroduction of the Medical Supplies for Pandemics Act in the Senate last week, U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) sought to more tightly link the federal government and medical product distributors to strengthen domestic manufacturing and refill the Strategic... Read More »
Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) introduced this week a measure designed to help reduce synthetic drug access.
The Federal Initiative to Guarantee Health by Targeting (FIGHT) Fentanyl Act seeks to make permanent the current, temporary classification of fentanyl-related... Read More »
America’s historically underfunded public health system played a major role in the nation’s laggard COVID-19 response, according to a new report released by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).
And while it’s too soon to calculate with precision, it is likely that the United States... Read More »
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Rep. John Katko (R-NY), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has been chosen to lead the American Security Task Force.
“Bolstering our nation’s security is an integral part of Republicans’ legislative plan for when we win... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced legislation last week that would strengthen domestic manufacturing efforts, particularly for personal protective equipment (PPE) leased through long-term Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) contracts.
The pair, who represent the Ranking... Read More »
A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that there remains a relative dearth of antibacterial treatments in the pipeline, despite the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.
The WHOʻs annual Antibacterial Pipeline Report found that of the 43 antibiotics that are currently in... Read More »
Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) introduced last week the Eradicate Crossing of Illegal Tunnels (EXIT) Act, which expedites efforts to address cross border tunnels, removing red tape preventing law enforcement from acting.
Hartzler said the bill would empower Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)... Read More »
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 »
Officials with Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) said the increases for public health programs in President Joe Biden’s FY 2022 budget are an important step in the country’s future.
The budget request includes a 23 percent increase to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)... Read More »
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 »
