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Published by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
Sanjana Ravi, MPH, Editor
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We're grateful to report that 2017 was a year of exciting new opportunities for the Center and promise for the future of the health security field. In our work we endeavor to study the most pressing problems in the field, to build national and international networks of concerned scientists and health experts, and to share what we discover with policymakers and practitioners in ways that bring about constructive changes. We are inspired by the many possibilities to collaborate with partners around the country and the world on issues at the heart of our mission.
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Public Health & Healthcare Preparedness
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PRESS RELEASE
CDC Warns of Deadly Outbreak of Yellow Fever in Brazil. CDC recommends that people who are unable to get yellow fever vaccine or aren't recommended to get it should avoid traveling to areas of Brazil where yellow fever vaccination is recommended. Travelers going to areas with ongoing outbreaks may consider getting a booster dose of yellow fever vaccine if it has been 10 or more years since they were vaccinated.
(CDC, 3/16/18)
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REPORT
Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Outbreaks and Events - Three Provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2017. Longstanding circumstances within Haut Lomami, Maniema, Tanganyika, and other eastern provinces, including insufficient human resources, insecurity, poor roads, lack of transport and cold chain equipment, riverine and other difficult-to-reach communities, and communities historically refusing vaccination have posed challenges to routine immunization, SIA implementation, and AFP surveillance and have resulted in susceptibility to the emergence of VDPV.
(CDC, 3/16/18)
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NEWS
AIDS Researcher Favored to Be Next CDC Chief. Robert Redfield, an HIV/AIDS expert at the University of Maryland Medical Center, is being vetted by the Trump administration to run the CDC. Redfield emerged this week as the favored choice to replace former CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald, who resigned in late January after POLITICO reported she had traded tobacco, drug and food stocks while heading the public health agency.
(Politico, 3/16/18)
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PRESS RELEASE
H7N9 Influenza Vaccine Clinical Trials Begin. The Phase 2 studies, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, will test different dosages of the inactivated influenza vaccine candidate (called 2017 H7N9 IIV) as well as different vaccination schedules.
(NIH, 3/15/18)
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WEBINAR
The US and Global Health Security at a Time of Transition. On Monday, March 12 the Kaiser Family Foundation held an event to explore these and other questions on the future of US global health security efforts with a panel of leading experts. Jen Kates, Vice President and Director of Global Health and HIV Policy, provided opening remarks, and Anne Schuchat, Acting Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gave a keynote address on US global health security efforts.
(Kaiser Family Foundation, 3/12/18)
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BLOG
Shouting in the Dark: Emergency Communication in USVI After Irma and Maria. USVI Department of Health staff had to be creative and resourceful after the storms because the typical means of communication were down. The best ways to share information immediately after the storms was through paper flyers, radio, and in-person outreach. CDC and the US Postal Service assisted with printing and distributing a flyer on key health tips to every mailbox on all four islands.
(CDC, 3/12/18)
See also:
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BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Broad Agency Announcement. Medical countermeasure-related research submissions are encouraged under area 7: Facilitate Development of Medical Countermeasures to Protect Against Threats to US and Global Health Security. Proposers are encouraged to submit white papers by March 30, 2018 for current fiscal year awards.
(FedBizOpps, 3/18)
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WEBINAR
Regulatory Considerations for Strategic National Stockpile Products. CDC's Division of Strategic National Stockpile will host a webinar for public health partners from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., ET, on Wednesday, March 21, to discuss threat-specific medical countermeasures and their anticipated regulatory mechanisms for the use of SNS medicines and supplies. The webinar is open to all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial public health and emergency response partners.
(NACCHO, 3/18)
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Homeland Security & Disaster Preparedness
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NEWS
US Accuses Russia of Cyberattacks on Power Grid. The Trump administration announced extensive sanctions against Russia on Thursday morning, which included sanctions on the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that produced divisive political posts on American social media platforms during the 2016 presidential election.
(CNN, 3/16/18)
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Radiological & Nuclear Disaster Preparedness
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BLOG
NNSA Partnerships Advance Global Radiological Security. Radioactive sources can be incredibly dangerous in the hands of terrorist seeking to deploy a radiological dispersal device or "dirty bomb." The good news is that there are alternative technologies available that do not rely on radioactive sources. NNSA plays a major role in encouraging transition to these technologies.
(NNSA, 3/13/18)
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Science & Technology Policy
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Genomic Centers for Infectious Diseases. The purpose of this initiative is to support Genomic Centers for Infectious Diseases (GCID) to promote broad use and expand the application of genomics technologies and computational analysis to understand infectious diseases, with an emphasis on pathogens, their interaction with the host and microbiome, and to aid in the development of novel genomics-based tools to diagnose, prevent and treat infectious diseases.
(Grants.gov, 3/15/18)
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WORKSHOP
Promoting the Use of Complex Innovative Designs in Clinical Trials. On March 20th, FDA is conducting a public workshop to discuss the use of complex innovative designs (CID) in clinical trials of drugs and biological products to inform regulatory decision making. This meeting will inform development of a guidance document as required by the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act) and is being conducted to meet the performance goal of convening a public workshop on CID included in the sixth authorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.
(FDA, 3/14/18)
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