Clinically Evaluated COVID-19 Drugs with Therapeutic Potential for Biological Warfare Agents.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak resulted in hundreds of millions of coronavirus cases, as well as millions of deaths worldwide. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the disease resulting from exposure to this pathogen, is characterized, among other features, by a pulmonary pathology, which can progress to "cytokine storm", acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), respiratory failure and death. Vaccines are the unsurpassed strategy for prevention and protection against the SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, there is still an extremely high number of severely ill people from at-risk populations. This may be attributed to waning immune response, variant-induced breakthrough infections, unvaccinated population, etc. It is therefore of high importance to utilize pharmacological-based treatments, despite the progression of the global vaccination campaign. Until the approval of Paxlovid, an efficient and highly selective anti-SARS-CoV-2 drug, and the broad-spectrum antiviral agent Lagevrio, many pharmacological-based countermeasures were, and still are, being evaluated in clinical trials. Some of these are host-directed therapies (HDTs), which modulate the endogenic response against the virus, and therefore may confer efficient protection against a wide array of pathogens. These could potentially include Biological Warfare Agents (BWAs), exposure to which may lead to mass casualties due to disease severity and a possible lack of efficient treatment. In this review, we assessed the recent literature on drugs under advanced clinical evaluation for COVID-19 with broad spectrum activity, including antiviral agents and HDTs, which may be relevant for future coping with BWAs, as well as with other agents, in particular respiratory infections.

RADIATION DETECTOR FOR THE ISRAELI FIRST RESPONDERS-METHODOLOGY OF SELECTION.

This paper presents the rationale and development of a methodology of selection of a radiation detector that can be used by first responders arriving to a terror event scene, not knowing if the event involves any radioactive materials. This detector can be used to detect and quantify the presence of gamma radiation. The role of this detector in a radiological terror event is reviewed via the operational concept for handling radiological terror in Israel. The development of the methodology of selection included a literature survey of relevant radiation detector categories, followed by a user-side survey of requirements based on the first responders' experience along with the Israeli Ministry of Defense perspective on the management of radiological events, supplemented by the input from experts in aspects of radiation detection, radiation protection and dosimetry from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission's Soreq Nuclear Research Center. The general qualitative characterisation of requirements was then quantified using a scoring method, enabling the methodological evaluation and numerical ranking of available detectors. Plans to evaluate candidate detector models according to the developed methodology are outlined. The detectors evaluation will be conducted as part of the procurement procedure of future detectors for first responders.

Potential Prophylactic Treatments for COVID-19.

The World Health Organization declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern at the end of January 2020 and a pandemic two months later. The virus primarily spreads between humans via respiratory droplets, and is the causative agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which can vary in severity, from asymptomatic or mild disease (the vast majority of the cases) to respiratory failure, multi-organ failure, and death. Recently, several vaccines were approved for emergency use against SARS-CoV-2. However, their worldwide availability is acutely limited, and therefore, SARS-CoV-2 is still expected to cause significant morbidity and mortality in the upcoming year. Hence, additional countermeasures are needed, particularly pharmaceutical drugs that are widely accessible, safe, scalable, and affordable. In this comprehensive review, we target the prophylactic arena, focusing on small-molecule candidates. In order to consolidate a potential list of such medications, which were categorized as either antivirals, repurposed drugs, or miscellaneous, a thorough screening for relevant clinical trials was conducted. A brief molecular and/or clinical background is provided for each potential drug, rationalizing its prophylactic use as an antiviral or inflammatory modulator. Drug safety profiles are discussed, and current medical indications and research status regarding their relevance to COVID-19 are shortly reviewed. In the near future, a significant body of information regarding the effectiveness of drugs being clinically studied for COVID-19 is expected to accumulate, in addition to information regarding the efficacy of prophylactic treatments.

The Effect of Risk Communication on Public Behavior to Non-Conventional Terrorism-Randomized Control Trial.

Non-conventional terrorism (NCT) incorporates an extended dimension of uncertainty that can lead to fear among the public. Health officials have an unsubstantiated assumption that thousands will seek treatment in hospitals following NCT. This study aims to examine public behavioral intentions in the case of NCT and the effect of risk communication on intents. An online randomized controlled trial was conducted among 1802 adult participants in Israel. Threat perception and behavioral intent before and after exposure to hypothetical NCT scenarios were assessed stratified to the type of media, exposure to rumors, and risk communication. The majority (~64%) of participants are aware of the NCT threat. Almost half (45%) of participants indicated a "high" or "very high" chance of seeking medical attention following an NCT incident. Regression analysis suggests that the odds of participants exposed to risk communication to report an elevated intent of seeking medical attention were 0.470 (95% CI: 0.359, 0.615) times that of participants not exposed to risk communication, χ2 = 30.366, p < 0.001. The findings demonstrate the importance of effective risk communication in reducing undesired public behavior during NCT crises. Efforts must be invested to create a robust risk communication infrastructure to allow the proper management of possible NCT incidents.