This page serves as a dynamic resource for OODA Network members looking for information on Heath, Biotech, Coronavirus/COVID-19 and other health information to drive their decision-making process.
-
Chinese health authorities have disclosed that a 41-year-old man contracted a rare strain of bird flu known as H10N3. The man had been in the hospital since late April, marking the first reported human case of the strain. The National Health Commission stated that the man developed a fever and other symptoms on April 23…
-
Last week, Swedish oncology and radiology system provider Elekta suffered from a security breach. Elektra provides equipment for scores of US cancer treatment centers, and the security breach ultimately impacted Elektra’s US customers as well. The breach pertained to its first-generation cloud-based storage system, according to a statement released by the company. Elekta notified law…
-
In a landmark ruling earlier this week, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) backed a Czech Republic decision for requiring mandatory pre-school vaccinations. The case was brought up by families who were fined or whose children were not allowed to return to pre-schools because they had not been vaccinated. Although the high court did…
-
New medical technology, AI-microscopes, could change how doctors detect cancer. This would begin the first stage of fulfilling industry goals of applying artificial intelligence to medical imagery in detecting various illnesses and health issues. In the initiatives first step, the Defense Innovation Unit awarded a contract to Google Cloud to deliver the AI models to…
-
In the UK, research shows that some ethnic groups are more vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus than the country’s white majority, resembling similar findings in the US that lay bare inequalities in health care between communities. The reason for the disparities, according to experts, is that minority groups in the UK are, on average, poorer…
-
As wealthy countries are racing to find a COVID-19 vaccine, some are placing advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee vaccines for their citizens, leaving controversy over whether developing countries will have access to the medicine in time. The United Nations, National Red Cross, and Red Crescent stated that it was morally imperative…
-
Recently, the Veterans Affairs Department launched a chatbot that aims to provide veterans and their caregivers with answers regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The chatbot was developed in less than a month through the Microsoft Healthcare Bot platform. The tool can be accessed 24/7 to assess symptoms related to COVID-19 as well as offer responses to…
-
The Health and Human Services Department issued a request for information seeking answers on how to create an overarching IT infrastructure that will coordinate, manage, and analyze supplied across sectors. The solicitation also highlights the agency’s plan to redesign the strategy driving the Strategic National Stockpile, aiming to ensure that sufficient reserves are available to…
-
On Tuesday, the South Korean government declared that it has not detected unusual activity in North Korea despite unconfirmed reports that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, is in fragile condition after heart surgery. South Korea stated that it has no information about the speculation over Kim’s health. The rumors arose after Kim missed a…
-
Apple has announced that it will donate 9 million N95 masks to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Apple is one of several tech companies to pitch in with donations as hospitals continue to report protective gear shortages. Vice President Mike Pence announced the donation on Tuesday during a press briefing. N95 masks form a protective seal…
-
Athena Security, a company originally created to spotting guns, has announced that they are creating technology that can identify coronavirus carriers through fever detection functions. Athena first launched its keystone program in 2018, which used thermal imaging and computer vision to detect concealed guns, however, the company has switched gears since the pandemic began with…
-
Bloomberg first reported that the United States Health and Human Services Department’s web site suffered from a DDoS cyberattack on Sunday night. This took the entire site online in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has spiked the search for HHS information dramatically over the past several weeks. On Sunday, the attackers attempted to…
-
On Monday, NASA launched several new technology transfer opportunities for potential medical applications, including new biotechnology. NASA is developing new biometric technology that would potentially eliminate the need for fingerprint, retinal and face scans; a heartbeat system that would become a new biometric technique to verify identity. Called HeartbeatID, NASA officials stated that the movement…
-
Wuhan has announced its plan to temporarily shut down its public transportation system as it combats the outbreak of a new strain of virus that has hit China’s major cities, along with several other countries. Wuhan has eleven million residents, all of whom have been advised not to leave the city during this time. However,…
-
CDC recently released the 2019 AR Threats Report, which aims to highlight emerging threats to public health, drug-resistant bacterias becoming more common, and provide the latest information on data regarding the number of cases within the U.S. The report stated that Clostridiodes difficile affected 223,900 people in 2017, killing 12,800 people. Overall, the report confirmed…
-
China Reports First Human Case of H10N3 Strain
Chinese health authorities have disclosed that a 41-year-old man contracted a rare strain of bird flu known as H10N3. The man had been in the hospital since late April, marking the first reported human case of the strain. The National Health Commission stated that the man developed a fever and other symptoms on April 23…
-
Cancer Patients Diverted After Cyber-Attack on MedTech Firm
Last week, Swedish oncology and radiology system provider Elekta suffered from a security breach. Elektra provides equipment for scores of US cancer treatment centers, and the security breach ultimately impacted Elektra’s US customers as well. The breach pertained to its first-generation cloud-based storage system, according to a statement released by the company. Elekta notified law…
-
European court backs mandatory pre-school jabs
In a landmark ruling earlier this week, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) backed a Czech Republic decision for requiring mandatory pre-school vaccinations. The case was brought up by families who were fined or whose children were not allowed to return to pre-schools because they had not been vaccinated. Although the high court did…
-
Microscopes Powered by Google’s AI Could Change Cancer Diagnostics
New medical technology, AI-microscopes, could change how doctors detect cancer. This would begin the first stage of fulfilling industry goals of applying artificial intelligence to medical imagery in detecting various illnesses and health issues. In the initiatives first step, the Defense Innovation Unit awarded a contract to Google Cloud to deliver the AI models to…
-
As in U.S., Covid-19 Risk in Britain Is Higher for Minority Groups
In the UK, research shows that some ethnic groups are more vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus than the country’s white majority, resembling similar findings in the US that lay bare inequalities in health care between communities. The reason for the disparities, according to experts, is that minority groups in the UK are, on average, poorer…
-
Race for virus vaccine could leave some countries behind
As wealthy countries are racing to find a COVID-19 vaccine, some are placing advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee vaccines for their citizens, leaving controversy over whether developing countries will have access to the medicine in time. The United Nations, National Red Cross, and Red Crescent stated that it was morally imperative…
-
Veterans Affairs Launches First Chatbot to Field COVID-19 Questions
Recently, the Veterans Affairs Department launched a chatbot that aims to provide veterans and their caregivers with answers regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The chatbot was developed in less than a month through the Microsoft Healthcare Bot platform. The tool can be accessed 24/7 to assess symptoms related to COVID-19 as well as offer responses to…
-
HHS Proposes ‘IT Control Tower’ to Manage Strategic National Stockpile
The Health and Human Services Department issued a request for information seeking answers on how to create an overarching IT infrastructure that will coordinate, manage, and analyze supplied across sectors. The solicitation also highlights the agency’s plan to redesign the strategy driving the Strategic National Stockpile, aiming to ensure that sufficient reserves are available to…
-
Seoul sees no suspicious activity in North amid Kim concerns
On Tuesday, the South Korean government declared that it has not detected unusual activity in North Korea despite unconfirmed reports that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, is in fragile condition after heart surgery. South Korea stated that it has no information about the speculation over Kim’s health. The rumors arose after Kim missed a…
-
Apple Is Donating 9 Million Masks To Combat The Coronavirus
Apple has announced that it will donate 9 million N95 masks to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Apple is one of several tech companies to pitch in with donations as hospitals continue to report protective gear shortages. Vice President Mike Pence announced the donation on Tuesday during a press briefing. N95 masks form a protective seal…
The ad-hoc creation of the COVID-19 High-Performance Computing (HPC) Consortium during the coronavirus pandemic revealed the unintended consequences of the shift of personnel and computational power for emergency use. It also compelled the National Science and Technology Council to do an analysis of the Consortium’s resources, processes, and structures to explore the creation of a National Strategic Computing Reserve (NSCR). We break down the NSCR blueprint.
OODA CTO Bob Gourley provides an overview of key thrusts of the transformation underway in biology and offers seven topics business leaders should consider when updating business strategy to optimize your opportunity because of these changes.
The Coronavirus pandemic is fueling conflict and fostering extremism while concurrently empowering gangs, cartels, and mafias in their quest for power and profit. In COVID-19, Gangs, and Conflict, OODA Network Experts John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker bring together a curated collection of both new and previously published material to explore the trends and potentials of the global pandemic emergency. Topics include an exploration of proto-statemaking by criminal groups, the interaction of pandemics and conflict, as well as a comparison of gangs, criminal cartels, and mafias exploiting the crisis and exerting criminal governance in Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico, Colombia, and South Africa. Implications for national security, biosecurity, slums, transnational organized crime, and threats and opportunities in the contested pandemic space are assessed.
Emergent Ideas Around COVID-19: Covid-19 provides a nearly unprecedented disruption at a global level that is reshaping our lives, economy, and culture. Here are some of the emergent ideas surrounding Covid-19 that could inform your decision making process or your scenario planning.
DHS Warns that Conspiracy Theories Are Inciting Attacks Against Critical Infrastructures: The Department of Homeland Security has issued an intelligence alert highlight the threat to communication infrastructures posed by conspiracy theories linking 5G technology to Covid-19.
A Perfect Storm forms as COVID-19 Meets Cyberspace: The global pandemic of COVID-19 may slow economies, but conventional and cyber conflicts have not stopped and will continue.
OODA Webinar – Managing Through COVID-19: Matt Devost and Bob examine at a variety of Coronavirus/COVID-19 issues relevant to operational decision-makers.
COVID-19 Related Geopolitical Questions To Drive Your Strategic Planning: The geopolitical dimensions of COVID-19 will have an impact on your organization.
I Was Asked to Review a Major City’s Emergency Response Plan. Here’s What I Told Them: Insights relevant to any local or state government as well as any concerned citizen.
The Impact Of Coronavirus on your Markets and Business Strategy: By anticipating changes in your market you can improve your approach to delivery of products and services.
You Need to Tighten Your OODA Loop on the Coronavirus/COVID-19: In this pandemic, you need to tighten your OODA Loop and make impactful decisions quicker. In fact, you need to make them right now.
Russia Exploits Global Pandemic for Economic Attacks: The COVID-19 market disruption presents an attractive opportunity for Russia to have a disproportionate impact on U.S. economic strength by engaging in policies that amply existing conditions to further drive panic and algorithmic disfunction.
The Best Analysis Regarding the Business Impact of Coronavirus COVID-19: The Corona Virus is already causing significant business impact across every sector of the economy, with disproportionate impact against sectors like transportation and hospitality.
OODA Special Report: How the Coronavirus will impact your mid to long range strategic planning: This special report is provided as an aid to kickstarting your corporate efforts in strategic planning around the coronavirus specifically and other potential pandemics more generally.
OODA Special Report: Digital Transformation in the Health Care Sector: Prior to the pandemic this sector was modernizing and transforming through digitization. That will accelerate in new and important ways now.
OODA Special Report: Executive’s Guide To The Revolution in Biology: We have been tracking this revolution and provide insights for strategic decision-makers here. Now with the impact of the pandemic we believe this will be the decade of biotech.
