ARS Scientists and Staff Deployed to Administer COVID-19 Vaccines
In January 2021, President Biden released the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness. The plan calls on the federal government to contribute resources, facilities, personnel, and expertise to contain the pandemic. As part of this effort, HHS recently issued an amendment to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, designating eligible Federal government employees to administer COVID-19 vaccines. USDA has deployed more 450 volunteers to support the vaccination effort, including over 40 ARS scientists and support staff on lengthy deployments across the country.
ARS employees shared their stories below on why they volunteered and the impact this effort is having on local communities struggling to administer the COVID vaccines:
December 22, 2020
By Josh Babcock, College of Veterinary Medicine
For decades, researchers have tried to develop an effective vaccine for
Babesia bovis, a tick-borne disease that annually kills millions of cattle worldwide.
According to research recently published in the International Journal for Parasitology, scientists at the Agricultural Research Service-United States Department of Agriculture and Washington State University may finally know where to start.
USDA-ARS tick-borne disease experts Drs Massaro Ueti and Carlos Suarez and support scientist Carl Johnson, in collaboration with WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, have identified which genes may be critically important to the survival and spread of the disease in ticks and mammals.