Threat and vulnerability management

COVID-19 has exposed countless weaknesses and inequities in our health care systems, with long-term effects that will be felt for generations to come. Yet it has also given us an important opportunity to improve where we have failed. Public health is now deeply embedded in our consciousness as a top priority. The pandemic has already helped facilitate long-overdue improvements in our health care system, such as the rapid expansion in virtual care and greater awareness of racial health disparities. But further progress will not be inevitable without more comprehensive reforms. Some positive changes will come in the form of how we adapt our behavior to protect ourselves and others. After almost a year of vigilant hand washing, sanitizing and mask-wearing, many of us are recoiling at how unsanitary our pre-pandemic actions were. The idea of powering through a cold or illness at the office is no longer to be celebrated. Instead, we are left with much greater respect for employees who … [Read more...] about How COVID-19 could make us healthier

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Governor Ron DeSantis delivered his annual State of the State address Tuesday morning during the first day of the state’s 2021 legislative session in Tallahassee. Here is the full text of his speech: READ MORE: Stimulus Check Update: When Could Another Economic Relief Payment Arrive? “Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, members of the House and Senate and fellow citizens: I see, in many parts of our country, a sad state of affairs: schools closed, businesses shuttered and lives destroyed. This calamitous reality is just the beginning of what will likely be long-term damage to children, families and society. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. While so many other states kept locking people down, Florida lifted people up. Florida’s schools are open – and we are one of only a handful of states in which every parent has a right to send a child to school in-person. All Floridians have a right to earn a living – and our citizens are employed at higher rates than … [Read more...] about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ State Of The State Address

Federal cybersecurity has "regressed" since 2019 due to factors including the lack of centralized cyber leadership at the White House, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released Tuesday. The watchdog agency included boosting federal cybersecurity as a key issue in its “ high risk" report to Congress, which outlines a wide array of areas where the federal government is both succeeding and falling behind. “Federal agencies and other entities need to take urgent actions to implement a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, perform effective oversight, secure federal systems, and protect cyber critical infrastructure, privacy, and sensitive data,” GAO wrote. ADVERTISEMENT It said the nation’s cybersecurity need “significant attention,” pointing in particular to “missing important characteristics” in the Trump administration’s National Cyber Strategy, released in 2018, and the lack of an “officially appointed central leader” on cybersecurity at … [Read more...] about Government watchdog finds federal cybersecurity has ‘regressed’ in recent years

Forty-one percent of American voters are not willing to receive a vaccine for the Chinese coronavirus, a Harvard CAPS-Harris poll released Monday showed. Vaccine rollout is continuing state by state, but a sizeable portion of American voters remain skeptical about receiving a vaccine for the coronavirus. While a majority, or 59 percent, are willing to receive the vaccination, 41 percent are not. Two-thirds of those who are not willing to receive the vaccine cited potential side effects as a concern, while one-third doubted the efficacy of the vaccines. Slightly over a quarter, or 27 percent, said they were not overly concerned by the virus, followed by 23 percent who said vaccines should be reserved for more vulnerable populations. Seventeen percent cited health concerns, according to the Hill. “The single most concerning number in this month’s poll is that 4 in 10 of those who have not been vaccinated do not want to take the vaccine. This includes 60 percent of Black … [Read more...] about Poll: 41% Say They Are Not Willing to Receive a Coronavirus Vaccine

The U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Census Bureau are among high-risk areas of government in need of reform, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO's "High Risk List," which it releases every two years, found 36 areas across the government that needed to address vulnerabilities to waste, fraud, abuse or more broadly reform. It said the Postal Service, which has had one of the more difficult years in its history amid the coronavirus pandemic and long-term financial strains, is in need of reform to be solvent. ADVERTISEMENT "USPS expenses exceeded revenues by $18 billion in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 as its labor compensation costs continued to increase while the volume of its most profitable mail products continued to decline," the report said. The GAO report said that of the criteria it uses to assess programs, leadership commitment, agency capacity, an action plan, monitoring efforts and demonstrated progress, the Postal … [Read more...] about GAO faults USPS, Census Bureau in ‘high-risk’ report