Public Health
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 »
U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AK), John Katko (R-NY), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), and Rodney Davis (R-IL) introduced legislation Monday designed to mitigate the nationwide physician shortages by boosting the number of Medicare-supported residency positions.
The Resident Physician Shortage Act of 2021 would... Read More »
A new bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) last week, the Stopping Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking Act, seeks to permanently schedule all illicit fentanyl and remove concerns surrounding the pending expiration of a temporary Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) effort.
“One of... Read More »
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 »
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 »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced the Significant Transnational Criminal Organization Designation Act, noting the legislation would subject foreign criminal organizations such as drug cartels to sanctions.
Sens. Ben Sasse (R-NE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Josh Hawley... Read More »
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas signed an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to publicize regulations regarding the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act.
The regulations will allow U.S. Customs and Border Protect (CPB) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to strengthen... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Burr (R-NC) reintroduced legislation designed to improve communications networks during natural disasters Wednesday.
The Emergency Reporting Act would ensure the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) provided resources to state and local governments... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) are urging President Joe Biden to add the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the Defense Production Act Committee (DPAC).
The DPAC advises the President on the most effective use of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to... Read More »
Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have seized approximately 11 million counterfeit 3M N95 respirator masks in recent weeks.
The effort resulted from a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and manufacturer 3M.
“These seizures... Read More »
Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb joined the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s (FSSA) Division of Mental Health and Addiction Monday to announce the state’s new plan to expand access to the opioid reversal agent naloxone.
Working with Overdose Lifeline, Inc., the state will... Read More »
In its first-ever global assessment of country health information systems, released this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that while two-thirds of low-income countries have some form of system to report causes of death, there is a widespread need for improvement.
This has been... Read More »
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced Thursday that it would be expanding its Operation Crystal Shield to include the cities of Chicago and San Francisco.
DEA Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Bell with the Chicago Field Division said the two cities have been designated... Read More »
The New Jersey Senate has passed legislation that would require doctors to prescribe an opioid overdose antidote in conjunction with any opioids they prescribe for high-risk patients.
The bill, S-2323, aims to reduce the number of opioid deaths in that state.
“The opioid crisis continues... Read More »
Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB-X) awarded $5.3 million to Lumen Bioscience to develop a new immunotherapy to prevent diarrheal diseases caused by two specific pathogens -- Campylobacter jejuni and enterotoxigenic E. coli.
Diarrheal diseases are intestinal infections caused by... Read More »
More Ohio residents died of opioid overdoses during a three month period of 2020 than at any other point in the last decade, according to a new analysis released by the Scientific Committee on Opioid Prevention and Education (SCOPE) initiated by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
Throughout the... Read More »
Officials with the New York Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said the amount of methamphetamine and fentanyl seized during 2020 indicates an alarming trend in street drugs and overdose deaths.
According to the DEA, agents seized 214 percent more methamphetamine and 59... Read More »
A recent report from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science finds that prescription use of opioids has fallen 60 percent since its peak in 2011.
Changes in clinical use, regulatory and reimbursement policies, and progressively more restrictive legislation have led to the reduced use, the... Read More »
The development and deployment of an effective vaccine for COVID-19 could be the turning point in the fight against the deadly pandemic, and companies involved in the process must make specific business and public health considerations simultaneously to help ensure a successful outcome, experts... Read More »
