The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays a critical role in protecting the United States from chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and emerging infectious disease threats. The FDA ensures that medical countermeasures for these threats are safe, effective, and secure. This annual report details the FDA’s medical countermeasure activities for fiscal year (FY) 2017 (1 October 2016–30 September 2017).
This publication discusses the challenges encountered by first responders during regular duty as well as following disasters, sheds more light on the risks and behavioral health consequences (such as post-traumatic stress disorder, stress, and depression) of serving as a first responder, and presents steps that can be taken to reduce these risks either on the individual or institutional level.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued final guidance, “Anthrax: Developing Drugs for Prophylaxis of Inhalational Anthrax,” which assists in the development of drugs for prophylaxis (prevention) of inhalational anthrax for individuals who may be potentially exposed to or have inhaled aerosolized Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis) spores, but who have not yet displayed related signs and symptoms.
The 2015-2016 National Report of Medical Countermeasure Readiness provides insights into the ability of the United States to plan and successfully execute a public health response requiring life-saving medical countermeasures. This report identifies key findings and recommended steps to advance the nation’s health security.
The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) is a federal agency created by Congress to oversee the building, deployment, and operation of a new nationwide public safety broadband network. Congress may continue its oversight of FirstNet to ensure the network is meeting public safety needs, requirements in the law are met, and the network is deployed as intended. In providing oversight, Congress may consider the issues reported.
Public health emergencies, including infectious disease and natural disasters, are issues that every community faces. To address these threats, it is critical for all jurisdictions to understand how law can be used to enhance public health preparedness, as well as improve coordination and collaboration across jurisdictions. The Tribal Legal Preparedness Project has been established to assist Tribal Nations interested in expanding their legal preparedness capacity.
Public health officials say the nation is overdue and underprepared for a pandemic. While everyone in a community can serve a role in pandemic preparedness, faith-based organizations provide unique characteristics to pandemic preparedness. These include community outreach efforts (i.e., counseling, ministry, aid) and available facilities and resources useful in a response.
This report highlights preparedness activities and investments at the federal, state, and local levels, and features stories that demonstrate the impact of these activities. There are two sections to this report: the Narrative and Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program Fact Sheets.
The National Health Security Preparedness Index tracks the nation’s progress in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the health consequences of disasters, disease outbreaks, and other large-scale emergencies. This report details the key findings from this year’s Index report.
North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) conducted its fourth biennial grid security and emergency response exercise, GridEx IV, on 15-16 November 2017. GridEx IV consisted of a two-day distributed play exercise and a separate executive tabletop. NERC used participant input to develop observations and propose recommendations to help the electricity industry enhance the security and reliability of North America’s bulk power system.
