News & Perspective

In the wake of a newspaper investigation that questioned the value of the federal BioWatch program for detecting dangerous airborne pathogens, some public health officials familiar with the program acknowledge that it's far from perfect, but they say it's not time to scrap it.

(CIDRAP News) – If someone tried to kill Americans with Bacillus anthracis spores today, the nation would have a better medical tool chest for treating the sick and those potentially exposed than it had 10 years ago, when the anthrax letter attacks killed five people, but anthrax defenses are still a work in progress.

(CIDRAP News) – Though the United States has improved its ability to respond to small-scale bioterror events, it is still unprepared to protect its citizens against large attacks, according to the latest assessment today from a bipartisan commission established to advise Congress.

(CIDRAP News) – A report from the National Research Council (NRC) calls for some changes in a US Army immunization program for lab researchers who work with dangerous pathogens, saying the vaccines need to be made more accessible to civilian scientists.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released new details about recommendations its vaccine advisory group made in February for Americans who receive anthrax shots.

ATLANTA (CIDRAP News) – The early response to the H1N1 pandemic exposed ongoing sore points regarding protection of workers in healthcare and other settings during epidemics or bioterrorist attacks, and federal researchers today highlighted current efforts to address some of the concerns.

(CIDRAP News) – While the pandemic H1N1 influenza vaccine seems to be just as safe as seasonal flu vaccines, the federal government has been getting some letters from people saying they plan to seek compensation for injuries caused by the injection, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

(CIDRAP News) – The US government needs much closer collaboration with private industry—like the arrangements used in building aircraft carriers and putting men on the moon—in order to improve the nation's medical defenses against biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear threats, says a report from a federal advisory panel.

(CIDRAP News) – President Barack Obama, giving a push to a proposal that has been in the works for years, yesterday ordered federal agencies to develop a plan for the US Postal Service (USPS) to deliver medical countermeasures to households in the wake of a biological attack.