July 18, 2017
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More than 50 public and private sector biosecurity stakeholders gathered at a meeting convened by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security on June 22 in Washington, DC, to engage in a discussion about US biodefense capabilities and offer recommendations for the forthcoming National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan.
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Public Health & Healthcare Preparedness
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NEWS
Tuskegee Syphilis Study Descendants Seek Settlement Money.
Descendants of hundreds of black men who were left untreated for syphilis during an infamous government study want a judge to give them any money remaining from a $9 million legal settlement over the program. The Trump administration has filed documents saying any unclaimed settlement money should revert to the government under terms of the original settlement, reached in 1975.
(STAT News, 7/17/17)
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LETTER
Maryland Lawmakers to Trump: Don't Shutter Biodefense Labs.
Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, along with Congressmen John Delaney (D-6th) and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-2nd), have sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to suspend any action that would lead to closing the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) at Fort Detrick and the Chemical Security Analysis Center on Aberdeen Proving Ground.
(Frederick News-Post, 7/13/17)
See also:
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RESEARCH
Experimental Zika Virus Vaccines Restrict in Utero Virus Transmission in Mice.
Two experimental vaccines can restrict Zika virus transmission from pregnant mice to their fetuses and can prevent Zika virus-induced placental damage and fetal demise. Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health; Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; the University of Texas Medical Branch; and other partners conducted the research.
(NIH, 7/13/17)
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NEWS
House Democrats Introduce New Plan to Fix Obamacare.
Ten House Democrats will unveil a new plan to fix Obamacare, highlighting the parts of the law that have struggled to work and offering modest steps to improve them. The proposal includes more funding to help insurance plans cover the sickest patients, along with possibly changing the timing of the open enrollment season in hopes of attracting more Americans to sign up for insurance.
(Vox, 7/12/17)
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SOLICITATION
Biosurveillance Ecosystem Enhancement.
The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), Research and Development, Chemical and Biological Technologies, J9CB, is seeking information from respondents who possess the capability to maintain and enhance the existing DTRA Biosurveillance Ecosystem (BSVE), or a demonstrated BSVE equivalent, to provide a chemical and biological defense platform which rapidly integrates multiple data sources (static and dynamic), tools, algorithms, and services to demonstrate their utility in chemical or biological defense.
(FBO, 7/10/17)
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BLOG
Polio Eradication and Beyond: What the Polio Endgame Means for Public Health.
The end of polio is in sight, with fewer cases of wild polio virus being reported yearly. Today, polio is on the cusp of eradication, with cases in only a few high-risk areas of three countries-Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. This brings the eradication effort to its final chapter, otherwise known as the polio endgame. The successful elimination and eventual eradication of the remaining wild polio viruses is related to the efforts of effective global, regional, and local partnerships.
(CDC, 7/10/17)
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WEBINAR
Growing and Sustaining: A Discussion About Healthcare Coalition Financial Models.
Healthcare Coalitions (HCCs) across the country have been tasked with supporting disaster operations in their communities during and after emergency events. For many HCCs, the transition from serving as a planning entity to an operational entity is challenging. In an effort to provide further assistance to HCCs, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR's) Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) is hosting a webinar series focused on operationalizing coalitions. The webinar will take place on July 20, 2-3 PM EST.
(NACCHO, 7/17)
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Homeland Security & Disaster Preparedness
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NEWS
How Climate Change Denial Threatens National Security. In a cramped
meeting room Wednesday on Capitol Hill, House Democrats hosted a roundtable to discuss climate change with several national security experts. In attendance were two former admirals, a retired general, a once-ambassador to Nigeria, and the former undersecretary to the Secretary of Defense.
(Wired, 7/17/17)
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BLOG
US Policies and Actions Aim to Counter Improvised Explosive Device Threats. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) pose a significant threat to communities across the globe. Recent domestic incidents involving IEDs include the Boston Marathon bombings, San Bernardino attack, New York/New Jersey bombings, and numerous attacks in Europe, most notably the recent bombings in Paris, Brussels, and Manchester. The United States is committed to addressing the serious problem IEDs pose by establishing and implementing measures to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the impact of IED attacks
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(Department of State, 7/17/17)
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BLOG
National Security Implications of Climate Change.
The United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology hosted a series of roundtables tackling issues on climate change. On July 12, 2017 in Washington, DC, Ambassador John Campbell participated in the "Science and Policy Perspectives: National Security Implications of Climate Change" roundtable, where he discussed climate change and its effect on Nigeria, a close strategic partner. This blog post is the statement he submitted for the record.
(Council on Foreign Relations, 7/13/17)
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
FY17 Pre-Disaster Mitigation.
The Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program makes available Federal funds to State, Local and Tribal Governments to implement and sustain cost-effective measures designed to reduce the risk to individuals and property from natural hazards, while also reducing reliance on Federal funding from future disasters.
(Grants.gov, 7/10/17)
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VIDEO
National Preparedness: Countermeasures to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive Threats.
To explore the new trends in CBRNE threats and strategies to deal with them, Federal News Radio convened a panel discussion of federal and industry experts, including CJ Johnson (Dometic Nuclear Detection Office), Dr. John Fisher (Director, Chemical & Biological Defense, Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency), Maj. Richard Gallant (Commander, US Northern Command), and Jay Tilden (Associate Administrator & Deputy Undersecretary for Counterterrorism, NNSA).
(Federal News Radio, 6/28/17)
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Radiological & Nuclear Disaster Preparedness
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NEWS
Yucca Mountain. Again.
President Trump's budget request includes $120 million to restart the licensing process, and the House is considering legislation to mandate a Yucca Mountain reboot. But the only thing headed for deep burial anytime soon is the nascent "consent-based" approach to siting-in which nuclear waste repositories would be sited only in places where the host community and all affected units of government are willing to accept them.
(Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 7/13/17)
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Science & Technology Policy
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REPORT
Preparing for Future Products of Biotechnology.
With support from the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Academies Committee on Future Biotechnology Products and Opportunities to Enhance Capabilities of the Biotechnology Regulatory System reported on the future products of biotechnology that are likely to appear on the horizon, the challenges that the regulatory agencies might face, and the opportunities for enhancing the regulatory system to be prepared for what might be coming.
(National Academies, 6/28/17)
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| An Update on FirstNet. US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet. 7/20/17, 10 AM. Russell 253. More |
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