Advanced search    Help

Clear all search criteria

Only 2/3! You are seeing results from the Public Collection, not the complete Full Collection. Sign in to search everything (see eligibility).

• Thriving on Uncertainty: COVID-19-Related Opportunities for Terrorist Groups

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Executive Summary: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic has had a cataclysmic impact on all aspects of the functioning of our world. The relevance of the possibility of the spread of a global virus with the spread of terrorism is not immediately obvious as it is difficult for a direct causal link to be scientifically established. However, taking into consideration how state responses and pre-existing socioeconomic grievances can be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to innovative findings on how terrorist groups have adapted and conducted their activities during the pandemic. Analysing how the response of states impacts socioeconomic grievances and how it interacts with terrorist activities, the authors have found that the pandemic has impacted the operational and ideological frameworks of terrorist groups in multiple ways."

  IEMed

  Bassou, Abdelhak; Tobi, Youssef; Claes, Johannes . . .

  2021-06
• Federal Interagency Response to the Coronavirus and Preparing for Future Global Pandemics, Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, Second Session, March 5, 2020 [video]

  Show summary     Open resource [html]     (open full abstract)

  This video is from the March 5, 2020 hearing on "Federal Interagency Response to the Coronavirus and Preparing for Future Global Pandemics," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Kenneth T. Cuccinelli and Robert Kadlec. The length of the video is 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 54 seconds.

  United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

  2020-03-05
• Assessing the Federal Government's COVID-19 Relief and Response Efforts and Its Impact, Hearing Before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventeenth Congress, First Session, July 29, 2021

  Show summary     Open resource [html]     (open full abstract)

  This is from the July 29, 2021 hearing, "Assessing the Federal Government's COVID-19 Relief and Response Efforts and Its Impact," held before the U.S. House Committee on Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. This hearing focuses on the oversight of government spending in relation to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A video of the hearing is available for viewing, and statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Michael E. Horowitz, Heather Krause, Chris Currie, Eric J. Soskin, James Izzard, Paul Skoutelas, Juan Ortiz, Michael J. Boskin, Wendy Edelberg, and John Samuelsen.

  United States. Congress. House. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

  2021-07-29
• Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program: Additional Actions Needed to Improve Communication with Applicants and Address Fraud Risks, Report to Congressional Addressees

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Highlights: "Between March 2020 and February 2021, SBA [Small Business Administration] provided about 3.8 million low-interest EIDL [Economic Injury Disaster Loan] loans and 5.8 million grants (called advances) totaling $224 billion to help small businesses adversely affected by COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. Borrowers can use these low-interest loans and advances to pay for operating and other expenses. The CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act includes a provision for GAO to monitor funds provided for the COVID-19 pandemic. This report examines, among other objectives, the characteristics of program applicants and recipients; the challenges EIDL applicants experienced and the extent to which SBA has addressed them; and the steps SBA has taken to address risks of fraud and provision of funds to ineligible applicants. GAO reviewed documents from SBA, an EIDL contractor, and two of its subcontractors. In addition, GAO analyzed loan application data, conducted five discussion groups with applicants, and interviewed staff from SBA, six Small Business Development Centers, and six business associations. GAO also analyzed socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic data on EIDL program participants."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2021-07
• Funding Needs for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, First Session, Special Hearing, November 2, 2005

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the opening statement of Arlen Specter. "We have a hearing of unusual importance in a subcommittee which characteristically has hearings of very great importance, but this tops the list of any in recent times. We are looking at a very substantial appropriation to meet the imminent threat of a pandemic flu. I had the opportunity to hear the President's speech yesterday at the National Institutes of Health, and the President really laid it on the line with the potential problems, which are enormous. Last week, when we had full Senate consideration of the appropriations bill, Senator Harkin took the lead, having spotted this problem some substantial time ago, and we worked through a very substantial add-on to our appropriations bill, in the amount of $7,975,000,000. We carefully fenced the money so that the expenditures would be at the discretion of the President and his very able team, many of whom are assembled here this morning. But we did not want to face a situation where Congress adjourned and then the program came forward. We will be looking, perhaps in late November, at a supplemental with the Congress out of session. Supplemental appropriation bills are extraordinarily difficult. They become what we call Christmas trees for many, many other items, so that if we can appropriate for it in due course, which we are moving ahead on, that's the way to handle it." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Arlen Spector, Tom Harkin, Thad Cochran, Patty Murray, Michael O. Leavitt, Anthony Fauci, Bruce Gellin, Julie Gerberding, William Raub, and John M. Barry.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2006
• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, Special Hearing, May 2, 2003

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the opening statement of Arlen Specter: "The world is now suffering from an enormous problem of SARS, originated in China, has been a problem in many parts of the world, recently in Toronto and also in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania… We are calling upon the Centers for Disease Control to undertake enormous new responsibilities to prepare for potential bioterrorism, and SARS is an unexpected problem; but when we take a look at the funding for the Centers for Disease Control, it is really totally inadequate not to use other language which might be more expressive or more emphatic, but the Centers for Disease Control was cut by some $175 million this year." This hearing focuses on is what is happening now on the containment of SARS, what is happening with the problem posed in China, limitations as to where people can travel and quarantines, what is going to happen in the future and what we need to do to have an adequate system to deal with problems like this one, and the adequacy of funding for the Centers for Disease Control in responding to such unexpected problems as SARS. Witnesses, statements and submissions: Julie Gerberding, Arlen Specter, Luther Rhodes, Anthony Fauci, and John Combes.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2003-05-02
• US Macroeconomic Policy Response to COVID-19: Spillovers to the Euro Area

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  This document is a compilation of the following papers: "Looking Through and Past COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]: Do Spillovers Matter?" by Pierre L. Siklos; "Implications for the Euro Area of US Macroeconomic Policies" by Karl Whelan; "Monetary and Fiscal Spillovers Across the Atlantic: The Role of Financial Markets" by Luigi Bonatti, Andrea Fracasso, and Roberto Tamborini; "Could the Euro Area Benefit From the US Stimulus Packages?" by Chrisophe Blot, Caroline Bozou, and Jérôme Creel; and "Once More, the US Leads Europe" by Charles Wyplosz."

  European Union; European Parliament

  Siklos, Pierre L., 1955-; Whelan, Karl; Bonatti, Luigi . . .

  2021-06
• S. Hrg. 108-136: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): Hearing before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress First Session, Special Hearing May 2, 2003

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  On May 2, 2003, the Senate Severe Committee on Appropriations convenes to discuss and hear testimony regarding Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Testifying are Julie Gertberding, MD, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Luther Rhodes MD of the Lehigh Valley Hospital Division of Infectious Disease, Anthony Fauci, MD, of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. John Combes of the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania. Chairman Arlen Spector explains that "The world is now suffering from an enormous problem of SARS, originated in China, has been a problem in many parts of the world, recently in Toronto and also in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania." He adds, "it is difficult to say this, but the Centers for Disease Control is in a dilapidated state". Julie Gerberding testifies that "the Chinese Government was unwilling to provide the information to the global health communities for quite some time. I think initially they misunderstood the problem as being caused by chlamydia infection or some other infectious disease" and that "we need a global system for detecting and diagnosing and responding to emerging infectious disease threats." Dr. Fauci states that "I think at the present time given the burden of cases that we have now, the level of alertness that we have been put on, the measures that the CDC has taken in surveillance and public health and infection control, that the risk is relatively small."

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2003-05-02
• S. Hrg. 108-367: SARS: Is Minnesota Prepared? Hearing before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, Field Hearing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 8, 2003

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  This hearing focuses on how Minnesota officials are preparing for a possible outbreak of SARS in the upcoming flu season. In the first outbreak of SARS, there were 8,098 cases in 28 countries. The United States experienced 29 total probable cases of SARS-with the median age being 33-and thankfully no fatalities. Throughout the world, however, 916 people died of SARS-related complications. This hearing discusses what can be done to ensure that the next outbreak of SARS isn't summarized with statistics of who got sick and died-but rather a case study that illustrates how lives can be saved when government and the health care communities- at every level-work together, not just hoping for the best, but being prepared for the worst. "Today's hearing gives us an excellent opportunity to assess our preparedness. We will hear from two of Minnesota's leaders in the area of public health and infectious disease. We will also hear from local officials, and, in particular school, officials who represent the front line of our effort to contain any future outbreak." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Dianne Mandernach, Michael T. Osterholm, Jeff Spartz, Mary Quinn Crow, Ann Hoxie, Debra Herrmann, Rob Benson, and Donna J. Spannaus-Martin.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2004
• Increasing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Members of Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities: A Guide for Developing, Implementing, and Monitoring Community-Driven Strategies

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Purpose: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Vaccination Supplemental Funding to IP19-1901 requires use of 10% of total funding for high-risk and underserved populations. This guide aims to support immunization awardees in establishing a community-driven approach and work plan for developing, implementing, and monitoring strategies to increase vaccine uptake among communities of focus. The guide focuses on racial and ethnic minority communities as an example due to the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 among these groups, but it is applicable to other communities that are hard to reach, experience marginalization or discrimination, and/or demonstrate vaccine hesitancy. This guide may be supplemented with additional materials and resources as more is learned about effective strategies and interventions. When finalized, CDC-RFA-1P21-2108, 'Partnering with National Organizations to Support Community-Based Organizations to Increase Vaccination Coverage Across Different Racial and Ethnic Adult Populations Currently Experiencing Disparities,' can help support the partner network described in this guide; planned partnerships and organizations to be funded are still in development."

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); United States. Department of Health and Human Services; National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.)

  2021-01-28
• Pandemic Influenza Preparedness: Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, Second Session, Special Hearing, January 31, 2006

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the opening statement of Arlen Specter: "This hearing is designed to acquaint the public with the scope of the potential problem. It could be enormous, or it might not be a major problem. That will depend upon what happens in many distant places around the world, what happens in Asia, what happens in Turkey and what happens by way of an influenza-contagious outburst. We have already seen some 160 people infected by bird flu. We have seen some 85 die. We have seen the problem move in a number of directions from Asia to Turkey. We are concerned about the problem of transmission from birds to humans and then from humans to humans and the complex question of mutation and the fact that we are not prepared at this moment for what could occur. We are looking at issues of vaccines where we are not prepared, and we'll get into the details of that. We're looking at antiviral drugs, again, where we are not prepared. The pandemics have a cyclical effect. In 1918, a pandemic-it is estimated it killed some 50 million people around the world. We have had one as recently as 1968." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Tom Harkin, John Agwunobi, Julie L. Gerberding, John M. Barry, Richard Webby, George B. Abercrombie, Daniel Soland, Christopher Viehbacher, Mary Mincer Hansen, Calvin B. Johnson, Bruce W. Dixon, Joanne Godley, and Larry Craig.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2007
• MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 16, 2021

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This issue of MMWR contains the following: "COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Vaccination Coverage Among Insured Persons Aged ≥16 Years, by Race/Ethnicity and Other Selected Characteristics -- Eight Integrated Health Care Organizations, United States, December 14, 2020-May 15, 2021"; "COVID-19 Vaccine Administration, by Race and Ethnicity -- North Carolina, December 14, 2020-April 6, 2021"; "Acceptability of Adolescent COVID-19 Vaccination Among Adolescents and Parents of Adolescents -- United States, April 15-23, 2021"; "SARS-CoV-2 [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2] B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with a Gymnastics Facility -- Oklahoma, April-May 2021"; and "'QuickStats': Percentage, of Men and Women Aged 25-49 Years Who Spent at Least One Night in the Past 12 Months at an Alternate Location Because They Did Not Have a Permanent Place To Stay, by Type of Location -- National Survey of Family Growth, United States, 2017-2019." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from this issue can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2021.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2021-07-16
• Pandemic Influenza: Progress Made and Challenges Ahead, Hearing Before a Subcommittee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Tenth Congress, First Session, Special Hearing, January 24, 2007

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the opening statement of senator Arlen Spector. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. On a conspiracy, secret conspiracy, which is about to be made public, the chairman and I have been conferring and he handed me the gavel so that we could have a ceremonial shift in gavel. Senator Harkin and I, who have traded positions as the powers have flowed, have always talked about it being a seamless change in the gavel. So I want to express my appreciation to Senator Harkin for handing me the gavel and to announce publicly that I'm not going to give it back. But on a serious level, it doesn't happen too often in the Senate, Tom Harkin and Arlen Specter have worked very closely together for more than two decades, since Senator Harkin was elected in 1984, and I think that has benefited the American people and the health community and the education community and worker safety and labor, where those three departments are under the funding of this subcommittee. In a contentious political climate in Washington, this is we think the way it ought to be operated. So here comes the seamless transfer, Mr. Chairman." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Tom Harkin, Gerald W. Parker, Julie L. Gerberding, Anthony S. Fauci, and John Jay Treanor.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2008
• Biodefense and Pandemic Influenza: Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, Second Session, Special Hearing, May 23, 2006

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the opening statement of Judd Gregg: "As a society, I think we recognize and as a culture I think we recognize that there are certain elements of threat which the government has a responsibility to prepare for even though we hope that they will never impact us. Number one on that list, of course, is the use of a biological or nuclear or weapon of mass destruction used by an enemy of America, terrorists specifically, against us, and our preparation for that has been a major focus of this committee, myself and Senator Byrd. We have reoriented funds to address that. Number two-not in that sense; they are equal in status-is the potential of a major outbreak of influenza along the lines of what happened in the early part of the last century, which would potentially harm and kill millions, potentially hundreds of thousands, of citizens across the world and in the United States and would obviously disrupt the entire world and the economy of the world, especially America, if it were not prepared for adequately. There has been a lot of talk about that because of the issues of bird flu and the possible mutation of that virus into a form that can be conveyed to humans and human-to-human conveyance from there. So these are big issues that need to be constantly focused on and that we as a government need to be constantly addressing and talking about and making sure that the agencies in our government which are responsible are on top of these issues." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Judd Gregg, Larry Craig, Robert C. Byrd, Paul A. Offit, John M. Clerici, Scott R. Lillibridge, Frank J. Cilluffo, and Steven D. Rice.

  United States. Government Printing Office

  2006
• MMWR Early Release: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, July 27, 2021: Guidance for Implementing COVID-19 Prevention Strategies in the Context of Varying Community Transmission Levels and Vaccination Coverage

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  he Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Series is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). [It] is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations. This early release issue of MMWR contains the following article: "Guidance for Implementing COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] Prevention Strategies in the Context of Varying Community Transmission Levels and Vaccination Coverage." Notifiable Diseases and Mortality Tables from MMWR can be accessed at the following link [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index2021.html].

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2021-07-27
• COVID-19 Contracting: Actions Needed to Enhance Transparency and Oversight of Selected Awards, Report to Congressional Committees

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Highlights: "In March 2020, Congress passed the CARES [Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security] Act as part of the federal response to COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019]. The act had certain provisions for federal contracting, including providing additional flexibilities. Contracting plays a critical role in the pandemic response as agencies obligate billions of dollars for goods and services. The act also included a provision for GAO [U.S. Government Accountability Office] to review federal contracting in response to COVID-19. This report examines, among other objectives, the extent to which the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security--the only agencies that reported using other transaction agreements in response to COVID-19 in the federal procurement database--used such agreements, including awards to consortia, and oversight of such use. GAO analyzed federal procurement data as of March 2021; reviewed a nongeneralizable sample of 15 agreements selected based on high dollar amounts, agency, a mix of products and services, among other criteria; reviewed agency policies; and interviewed agency officials. GAO is making 14 recommendations to selected agencies, to improve the transparency of agreement awards in the federal procurement database and update policies to improve the oversight of agreements awarded through consortium management firms. The agencies agreed with 11 of the recommendations and did not agree with three of them. GAO continues to believe the recommendations are valid, as discussed in the report."

  United States. Government Accountability Office

  2021-07-26
• Guide for Community Partners: 'Increasing COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Members of Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities'

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Document: "In January 2021, the federal government funded 64 state, territorial, and local immunization programs for COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] vaccination efforts and required 10% of funding to support groups at higher risk of COVID-19 and under-resourced communities. As immunization programs continue to get funding to support COVID-19 vaccination uptake, the Guide for Community Partners can be used to 'support organizations with community-level reach--who play a critical role in increasing vaccine confidence and access in their communities--with delivering or supporting COVID-19 vaccination efforts.'"

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

  2021-04-06
• Framework for Nursing Home Reform Post COVID-19

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Document: "To address the longstanding problems in the long-term care system, as well as those exposed by the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, we provide a baseline framework with recommendations in six critical areas that need reform: (1) staffing and workforce; (2) regulation and enforcement; (3) ownership and management standards, transparency, and accountability for quality; (4) government payment systems, financial transparency, and accountability; (5) structural changes in the long-term care delivery system; and (6) nursing home redesign and rebuilding."

  California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform; Center for Medicare Advocacy; Justice in Aging . . .

  2021-06
• Loss Mitigation Toolkit Improvements for Borrowers Exiting COVID-19 Forbearance

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Document: "Nearly a year and a half since the start of the pandemic, the US economy is on the mend. The vaccine rollout is progressing, allowing businesses to reopen and rehire workers who lost their jobs last year. Consequently, many borrowers are exiting their COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] forbearance plans, which have proven to be an effective addition to the loss mitigation toolkit. Seventy to 80 percent of exiting borrowers are opting for payment deferrals (where missed payments are added to the end of the loan), and the rest are exiting forbearances with a need for loan modifications. This necessitates a closer look at the loss mitigation toolkit to maximize the number of loans that can be cured. In this brief, we identify a few improvements to the loss mitigation toolkit that have received little focus. These improvements aim (1) to maximize the number of delinquencies that can be cured by offering more sustainable payments and (2) to move forward with property disposition most efficiently when all home retention options have been exhausted."

  Urban Institute

  Kaul, Karan; Goodman, Laurie S.; Neal, Michael

  2021-07
• How to Build Transit Workers' Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  This document gives guidance to transit agencies regarding how to inform and encourage their employees about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. From the Document: "Frontline transit workers are at increased risk of getting COVID-19 and should be vaccinated. Their decision to get vaccinated can protect more than just their own health. If all transit agency staff--from Chief Safety Officers to managers to operators--get vaccinated and use all current protective measures against spreading the virus that causes COVID-19, it will help ensure that staff and passengers are protected."

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (U.S.)

  2021-06-09
• Protecting the Health of Our Nation's Essential Workers: Congress Must Lift the 'Five-Year Bar' on Medicaid and CHIP

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Document: "As Congress continues to address the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, it is critical that they take immediate action to address a longstanding, unnecessary gap in health coverage by lifting the five-year bar that blocks lawfully present immigrant families from accessing insurance through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). [...] Twenty-five years ago, Congress passed legislation that created an arbitrary and dangerous five-year exclusion period and additional restrictions that prevented lawfully present immigrants from accessing health insurance programs as part of a 'welfare reform' effort. Today, the five-year bar prevents hundreds of thousands of people who are lawfully living, working, and paying taxes in the United States from accessing medical care and other basic needs. The hard-learned lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown us the dangers of arbitrary policies that block access to basic medical care."

  Families USA

  Reavis, Bailey

  2021-06
• Violations of ICE Detention Standards at Adams County Correctional Center

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Highlights: "In accordance with the 'Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021', we conduct unannounced inspections of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities to ensure compliance with detention standards. Between January and February 2021, we conducted a remote inspection of the Adams County Correctional Center (Adams) to evaluate compliance with ICE detention standards and COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] requirements. [...] We made seven recommendations to improve ICE's oversight of detention facility management and operations at Adams."

  United States. Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General

  2021-07-14
• COVID-19 Working Paper: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Redemptions During the Coronavirus Pandemic

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Abstract: "The coronavirus [disease 2019] (COVID-19) pandemic led to an economic contraction in the United States in 2020, predictably leading to an increase in the dollar amount of food assistance benefits issued to households. Previous economic downturns provide limited precedent to understand the growth in food assistance benefits during this pandemic, especially considering the speed of the economic contraction and the policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. To quantify part of the growth in food assistance benefits, this analysis explores monthly patterns in combined Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) redemptions through September 2020, compares these patterns with recent years, and explores changes in the types of food retailers at which redemptions are made. This analysis uses 2017-20 data from the Food and Nutrition Service's (FNS) Store Tracking and Redemption System (STARS) on the monthly value and store type of SNAP and P-EBT benefit redemptions, as well as data from the Economic Research Service's (ERS) Food Expenditure Series on the value of food-at-home expenditures. Overall, an average of $8.4 billion in combined SNAP and P-EBT benefits were redeemed per month during the 6-month period of April through September 2020--an increase of 86.4 percent compared to the same period in 2019. These benefits accounted for an average of 11.7 percent of expenditures on food at home during the April-September 2020 period--an increase of 72.1 percent compared to the same period in 2019. The share of benefits redeemed at super stores increased, while the share of benefits redeemed at other store types decreased relative to previous years. The value of benefits redeemed online also grew quickly, from $2.9 million in February 2020 to $196.3 million in September 2020. By September, online redemptions accounted for 2.4 percent of the total value."

  United States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service

  Jones, Jordan W.

  2021-03
• BMGF Position Paper on Pandemic Preparedness and Response Financing Ecosystem

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) Document: "The world's experience with COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] has reinforced the criticality of a new, intensified approach to investing in health security at the global, regional, and country levels which has significant benefits not only for health but also for economic stability and broader security. Across the complex Global Health Security (GHS) ecosystem, there are three categories of challenges for pandemic preparedness and response that need to be addressed through more and better financing alongside other global health needs: '1. Global goods' with significant health security spillover effects such as R&D [research and development] for products and platforms, a globally coordinated rapid pandemic response force, and integrated surveillance, zoonotic monitoring, etc. '2. [']At-risk' financing for scaling up development and manufacturing and reserving production capacity for medical countermeasures,' not just for high-income countries but for the world. This entails pre-positioned financing that can be deployed during a crisis for producing vaccines and other medical countermeasures even before they are proven effective, at a level of risk that the private sector alone can't absorb. It also includes some 'at-risk' financing during non-pandemic times to build up globally networked, distributed capacity that is resilient to nationalistic needs and can be repurposed to target specific viruses during a pandemic. '3. Regional and country-level preparedness and response needs' with clear benefits at the national level but whose positive externalities for health security are often undervalued."

  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; G20 High-Level Independent Panel (HLIP)
• Nota De Orientación: Protección a Niños, Niñas Y Adolescentes Durante Los Brotes De Enfermedades Infecciosas

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  "Esta Nota de orientación tiene por tanto, el objetivo de proporcionar a los especialistas en protección humanitaria de la niñez y adolescencia dirección técnica y a los asesores y directores de programas de protección de la niñez y adolescencia, orientación sobre cómo responder a brotes de enfermedades infecciosas y garantizar que se tengan en cuenta las necesidades de protección de los niños y niñas durante la fase de preparación e implementación de las respuestas a los brotes. Esta Nota de orientación hace uso de las lecciones que se aprendieron durante los brotes de enfermedades infecciosas a nivel mundial en una variedad de contextos."

  Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action

  Fischer, Hanna-Tina; Elliott, Leilani; Bertrand, Sara Lim

  2020-04-23?
• Reimagining Manufacturing for Pandemic Preparedness: Non-Paper on Public Private Partnerships for the High-Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Summary: "The COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic illuminated longstanding challenges in our global ability to respond to pandemic threats, including a global biopharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem unprepared for crisis response. The lack of manufacturing capacity for vaccines and therapeutics poses a public health risk to the world and prevents new medicines from reaching patients as fast as possible. As the global community looks to prevent, prepare for, and respond to future pandemics, it must commit to a new future for biopharmaceutical manufacturing that reimagines how medicines are made. A sustainable ecosystem for biopharmaceutical manufacturing requires new manufacturing technologies and flexible, distributed production systems that can respond to diverse disease threats at speed and at scale. Public-private partnerships play a vital role in bringing together the innovation, infrastructure, and human capital that make this new ecosystem possible. This non-paper outlines how biopharmaceutical manufacturing must be enhanced and ways the public and private sector can partner to build flexible, multi-modality manufacturing capacity, invest in novel technologies, and advance manufacturing science."

  National Resilience, Inc.; G20 High-Level Independent Panel (HLIP)

  2021-07
• Widening the Framework for Regulation of Dual-Use Research in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Executive Summary: "In the wake of the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic, the global scientific community has directed increased resources and attention towards the study of viruses and emergency medical countermeasure development. Our analysis of publicly available data on publications, preprints, and clinical trials coupled with the Global Health Security Index [GHSI] measure of dual-use oversight suggests that some research activities raise dual-use concerns that have gone unaddressed. [...] We argue that certain categories of research that receive more attention following a pandemic pose unique dual-use risks that must be addressed by a comprehensive approach involving: 1) a broader definition of dual-use research of concern that captures experimental techniques that could feasibly be translated to harmful pathogens. 2) creation of regulatory frameworks to oversee the funding and publication of dual-use experiments, especially in countries with large biomedical research output and countries where the GHSI has highlighted shortcomings in national dual-use policies. These policy changes must also be accompanied by stronger social norms among grant makers and scientists alike, in order to effectively address biosecurity concerns in advance of the next outbreak."

  American Biological Safety Association

  Sandbrink, Jonas B.; Musunuri, Sriharshita; Monrad, Joshua T.

  2021-07?
• Population Health in Challenging Times: Insights from Key Domains: Proceedings of a Workshop

  Show summary     Open resource [html]     (open full abstract)

  From the Webpage Description: "The year 2020 presented extraordinary challenges to organizations working to improve population health - from public health agencies at all levels of government to health systems to community-based non-profit organizations responding to health-related social needs. To improve understanding of how different domains in the population health field are responding to and being changed by two major crises (racial injustice and the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic), the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop from September 21-24, 2020, titled Population Health in Challenging Times: Insights from Key Domains. The workshop had sessions organized by themes: academic public health and population health; the social sector; health care, governmental public health; philanthropy; and cross-sector work. Each panel discussion highlighted difficulties and opportunities, both internal to the respective institutions and sectors, and at the interface with peers and partners, especially communities. This publication summarizes the presentations and panel discussions from the workshop."

  National Academies Press (U.S.)

  Baciu, Alina

  2021
• Guidance Note: Protection of Children During Infectious Disease Outbreaks

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Aims and Audience: "This Guidance Note aims to provide humanitarian child protection practitioners, particularly child protection advisors and program managers, with guidance on how to engage in responses to infectious disease outbreaks to ensure children's protection needs are taken into account in preparedness for, and during responses to, the outbreaks. The Guidance Note draws upon lessons learned during infectious disease outbreaks globally in a variety of contexts."

  Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action

  Bertrand, Sara Lim; Fischer, Hanna-Tina; Elliott, Leilani

  2020-04-23?
• COVID-19 Working Paper: A Timely Tool for Evaluating Financial Conditions in Agriculture: USDA Forecasts of the Value of Production in the Face of COVID-19

  Show summary     Open resource [pdf]     (open full abstract)

  From the Summary: "The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) releases farm income forecasts 3 times per year. At times when conditions in the farm sector are changing rapidly, as with the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] outbreak, it can be useful to assess the likely impacts of recent events on U.S. farm sector income in between scheduled ERS data releases. This paper demonstrates how to use data that is available monthly to evaluate changes in the ERS forecasts of crop value and animal/animal products production--a major driver of farm income. The study found that between February and June 2020, the value of production forecasts for 8 crops in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 crop marketing years--and the value of production forecasts for the 6 animal products for calendar year 2020--were revised down a combined $28.9 billion. These forecasts, based on data from the June World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), were effective in anticipating the downward revision to the value of production forecasts in the ERS farm income forecasts released in September 2020."

  United States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service

  Litkowski, Carrie; Law, Jonathan

  2021-01