As part of the international response to the Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to meet domestic biodefense goals, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) will support manufacturing of an investigational Ebola vaccine, V920, from Merck & Co. Inc.
Engineers at the University of California, Riverside are working on a tool that searches real-time text, photo, and video from social media and surveillance cameras alongside data from sensors, like fire detectors and security alarms. In addition to locating and analyzing information, the new tool will also collect it to constantly update databases. With a more integrated and holistic view of the situation, first responders can better allocate their resources.
Outpatient care settings – including federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, urgent care centers, home health and hospice agencies, and primary care provider practices – have a wide range of capabilities that could be used to save lives in an emergency. Medical surge preparedness in outpatient settings has important implications for healthcare system preparedness and healthcare coalitions.
The First Responder Network Authority marked a significant milestone with release of a new Roadmap for the future of FirstNet, the nationwide public safety broadband network. The FirstNet Authority Roadmap builds on the organization’s nationwide engagement with public safety to gather feedback on the most important communications capabilities for first responder missions.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia are deploying a new health surveillance system to help keep people protected from communicable diseases during the annual hajj pilgrimage. For the first time, the Global Centre for Mass Gatherings Medicines of the Saudi Ministry of Health is using the Health Early Warning System (HEWS), which ensures the early detection of and timely response to health threats and emergencies related to mass gatherings.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is awarding more than $6.6 million to fund research into improving disaster resilience. Eleven organizations will receive grants to conduct research into how earthquakes, wind, and fire affect the built environment to inform building designs, codes, and standards to help those structures better withstand such hazards.
As directed in the National Biodefense Strategy, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) continues to enhance preparedness to ensure health security and save lives – by expanding the nation’s portfolio of medical countermeasures to address the remaining threats and to counter new and unknown threats. The United States is better prepared today because of sound investments in biodefense made using Project BioShield, strong partnerships, and a shared commitment to cutting-edge innovation.
FLIR commemorates the last delivery of Dismounted Reconnaissance Sets, Kits, and Outfits (DR-SKO) Systems to the U.S. Army’s Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense. The CBRN DR-SKO system is a set of mission-specific kits that characterize and provide full spectrum CBRN dismounted reconnaissance capability utilized by the U.S. military Joint Services.
As part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) ongoing efforts to support state, local, tribal, and territorial partners, Acting Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan announced final allocations of $350 million for six Fiscal Year 2019 DHS competitive preparedness grant programs.
Over the last 15 years, BARDA has leveraged unique partnerships, funding, strong technical expertise, and interagency coordination to strengthen the medical countermeasure pipeline so products reach late-stage development support and, ultimately, become available to protect Americans and save lives during a national disaster.
