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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

Nightmare state of anti-bioterror plan

(New York Post) An ambitious federal program to protect big cities from biological attacks is running six years late and $3.7 billion over its projected cost — and nobody has been able to make it work, The Post has learned. A new federal report discloses that Department of Homeland Security chiefs in Washington have long Read More »

September 19, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Bioterrorism, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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White Paper Helps Research Institutions Implement BSL-2+ Biosafety Programs in Laboratories

(Market Watch) A new, free white paper assists research institutions with the challenges of implementing biosafety level (BSL) 2+ practices and procedures in laboratory facilities. BSL-2+ is the term frequently used to describe laboratories where work with microorganisms is conducted in a BSL-2 laboratory with biosafety practices and procedures typically found at BSL-3. The biosafety Read More »

September 19, 2012
| Filed under North America, Biosafety, Policy & Initiatives, and Research
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Anthrax Vaccine Trial Distribution Could Begin in 2013

(Emergency Management) Nonmilitary emergency personnel could be offered the anthrax vaccine in early 2013, as part of an Obama administration plan to distribute unused federal stocks of the vaccine. The trial program would examine the potential of distributing the countermeasure to first responders who volunteer to participate in the initiative. At a joint hearing on Read More »

September 19, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Countermeasures, Policy & Initiatives, Public Health, and Research
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BioShield report shows growth in biodefense stockpile

(CIDRAP) The recently released annual report for the federal Project BioShield program gives a snapshot of the US arsenal for blunting bioterrorist attacks, showing growth in the supplies of certain countermeasures for anthrax, botulism, and smallpox. The report states, among other things, that the government has decided it doesn’t need the full 200,000 doses of Read More »

September 18, 2012
| Filed under North America, Agents & Toxins, Biological Weapons, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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DHS DEFENDS ACQUISITION PLAN FOR BIOWEAPON DETECTORS

(NextGov) The Obama administration on Thursday defended plans to press ahead in vetting and acquiring a new generation of sensors designed to provide early warning of a biological weapons attack, even as auditors and some lawmakers urged it to pause and reassess the effort. Before finalizing a blueprint three years ago for procuring a third Read More »