You need not apologise, Dr. Osterholm. As an RN who worked in a major hospital during COVID, I lived through the disastrous response to the pandemic during the Trump regime. I have worked in the hospital during HIV, Ebola, and other public health challenges. Never have I witnessed such a denial of science and false information from a president in my career. The chaos from Trump made my job so much worse. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues believed Trump which added to the stress. In my opinion, another term with Trump will be terminal for all the scientific progress this Country has achieved. We will be dragged back to the Dark Ages. VOTE! VOTE! VOTE, like your children’s’ lives depend on it! Thank you, Dr. Osterholm. Everyone needs to sound the alarm before it is too late.

Thank you for bringing this podcast to us. I know it didn’t end the way I had hope for but it definitely was a guiding light at some point in the past 4 years for me. I’m forever grateful. Take care

Always factual, humble, dependable, based on data, and in the best interest of public health. A great go-to resource.

I am a primary care physician. During the pandemic, it was difficult even for us to get up-to-date and accurate science discussion around COVID-19. The Osterholm Update was my source through the pandemic and now. I found Dr. Osterholm to consistently give accurate information. More importantly, he was able to clarify when there was no helpful or useful information available around certain subjects, and carefully and thoughtfully explain why. I could not find any other source of information, even including the CDC, that was able to do so. I would like to add that I appreciated Dr. Osterholm’s humanity throughout the pandemic. He helped provide hope and support to all of us trying to take care of our patients and families through that difficult time as a provider. He and his entire staff (as I know he could not provide this information without his wonderful staff ) have my genuine gratitude and thanks.

Osterholm now sounding like Tracy Beth Hoeg “I am 71 yrs old and had long COVID for months but since I exercise there is no need for respiratory protection in crowds!” Brain fog or peer pressure?

Thank you for being a reliable information source on COVID. It is so hard to get trustworthy information. I look forward to every episode! You have a magnificent show and team!

A couple of years ago, I wrote this about this podcast: “Dr. Osterholm sounds like one of the kindly old ministers in the Minnesota-based church I grew up in, which is comforting in a way. The hard-headed science he presents is often not so comforting but it’s still there whether we want to hear it or not. I’d rather hear it and learn from it, and enjoy the sense of love and shared humanity he brings along with it.” Sadly, the host and podcast have changed now. Dr. Osterholm seems to have joined the rest of his professional colleagues in abandoning efforts to avoiding spreading this virus or getting infected by it. His recent defense of the California “just go back to work” policy on Covid-19 was the last straw for me. Unsubscribed after four years of regular listening.

Wish I could give it 100 stars! Superb work! Extremely grateful for the dedication, hard work, thoughtfulness, commitment to humanity, and intellectual study offered each week by Dr. Osterholm and his team. God bless you.

Covid minimizer. You can't "both sides" this.

As a Clinical Microbiologist working as a Senior Clinical Laboratory Manager, this podcast brings me much joy! Having a knowledgeable source of scientifically valid information on virology, immunology, vaccines, and public health is a breath of fresh air! Thank you Dr. Osterholm for your contributions and compassion, and please continue this podcast! This is a shining light in a world that needs public health education!

It’s hard to find information about Covid now so this is a much appreciated resource.

I’ve listened to every episode from the beginning. Dr. Osterholm is my trusted sources for pandemic news. Thank you to the entire team.

Excellent, excellent information! Dr Osterholm and guests cover all subjects and questions related to infectious disease with measured, empirical and emphatic advice. I will do my part in this struggle to get my family and friends to vaccinate and mask as much as I can.

The message of this podcast as I hear it is be afraid, stay afraid, get the modRNA injection, and get the boosters. Pay attention to what the host doesn’t address. Negative information about the “vaccine” that is being discovered and entering public knowledge? Early treatment options, known from practically the beginning? The dangers of vaccinating a population during a pandemic? How are the vaccinated fairing compared to the unvaccinated? Nope, the host does not discuss any of this.

Really appreciate the best of this podcast/ the kindness, the broad, experienced take on the pandemic as well as periods of intense data delivery/ guidance on how to navigate from a consistent perspective in a world where we disagree so dramatically on what is happening. Really wonder what happens now/ I’m still hearing dire concerns about repeat Covid infections, but the creep to just accept the current situation is powerful, even as cases rise significantly and people are taken by surprise by unpleasant infections. Will this podcast drift towards a low profile coverage of Covid and avoid the risk of standing out as a place of sharing sometimes unwelcome but needed, accurate information? I hope not, we may need to adjust our behaviours and expectations, but I want to know the what and why, as best we can.

Every week there are rumors and News items about Covid 19 and other lesser known infectious diseases. I wait intently for the bi-weekly “Osterholm Update” for a thorough science-based review of the latest developments.

As many places stop paying attention, this podcast continues to inspire and inform. Dr. Osterholm is well qualified to produce it, and gives us data we can rely upon and use in our lives to help us handle this pandemic.

Valuable and up-to-date information for those of us still interested in the state of the pandemic. Sincere thanks to Dr. Osterholm for his painstaking research, analysis… and compassion. His podcasts reveal that he is a man of science with a kind and generous heart. His detailed narrative of his own experience with Covid was most informative. So glad he has recovered.

I hate to downgrade my feelings on this podcast. I have listened since the beginning, and I can no longer follow Dr. Osterholm’s advice. It is pretty much down the line CDC recommended advice that hasn’t changed since the beginning. I now follow the advice of the FLCCC. I cannot believe that anyone would recommend boosters every 6 months with the data currently available.

Great up to the minute data and insights. It’s important to be reminded that the virus is not done with us and how that conclusion is drawn, and what to do with this information. I enjoy the variety in the manner of presentation each week. The various parts of the show are quite different and some are heartfelt. I look forward to the podcast and wish it were more often.

Thank you to you and all your helpers for all that you do to advocate for Covid sufferers and those still trying to avoid it. I look forward to your podcasts and hope you will continue with them. Fatarae

I am grateful to this group of dedicated podcast folks. The consistency and desire to gather, interpret & share the data & information regarding Covid 19 & other potential health risks has been significantly helpful. The dedications, the thoughtfulness & the humanity is inspiring. Thank you!!

Thank you for this podcast! Dr. Osterholm is a kind and knowledgeable source for Covid information that I trust. His interpretation of the situation reassures me during difficult times. Yes, this podcast reassures me even when the situation is difficult because accurate information is power. Power to assess risk and then to take appropriate action.

I’m a physician and I find this podcast so wonderful: excellent medical and scientific information, delivered by a kind, thoughtful expert. Dr. Osterholm is a critical resource in navigating a challenging situation. And he acknowledges the emotional and personal challenges as well. I appreciate this podcast deeply.

Your podcast is priceless. Incisive, reliable information at a time when that is all too rare. Thank you. Chris, I’m begging you, get a pop filter for your mic.

I am a NP and have listened faithfully to this podcast. This is also the podcast I refer my patients to listen to when they want to deep dive on COVID information. Thank you!

No real answers

I so appreciate the straight talk and scientifically fact based reporting from this podcast. It has helping me keep my sanity with a frame of reference during this now 3 year crisis. Knowing the facts as best we can, respecting the virus and mitigating where possible makes life closer to what it was before Covid arrived.

I listen to this every week or so. It is my single most reliable and up to date source of information on COVID variants, public health issues, vaccines, and more. Thank you.

Grateful for your guidance and support . I haven’t missed an episode. The dedications, the beautiful places, and songs all offer hope and encouragement. If the team would like to have some joy and a chuckle this week , watch the YouTube performance by Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Son , as he and the boys perform You’ll Never Walk Alone, while in quarantine at their parents wee flat in England. Mum gets the last laugh after the song is finished. Thank you Dr O and team, Rita, Boston

I have been listening faithfully to this podcast since 2021. It currently appears to be only podcast out there sharing science-based facts about COVID and framing the ongoing pandemic as the crisis it truly is. Dr. Osterholm is a comfort to listen to every other week, and I base many of my risk assessments on what he’s advised (WWOD: what would Osterholm do?) I hope CIDRAP continues to commit to producing this podcast, however, if it did ever come to an end, I would know the pandemic were over and that would be welcome news!

Scientific info shared in a meaningful way!

I am viewed as a sort of crazy Cassandra, still wearing my mask, not gathering, etc. I live in New York City and I really feel it’s going to be a difficult winter. Dr Osterholm is so supportive and kind. What my family has been going through has been extremely difficult. My sister got Covid twice in 2021, and she’s still lying in a bed. A pressure sore that developed while she was intubated is still not healed. Our cousin, a young healthy girl, has long Covid and can’t work. People are not getting that this is more than just the infection, it can have long range and long lasting results. Again I say thank you.

Best podcast hands down. No one can hold a candle to Dr. Osterholm. He brings not only his expertise and exceptional fund of knowledge to listeners but he strives for honesty and openness . His honesty is what separates him out from the crowd. You know he’s always going to tell the truth no matter how difficult it may be hear it. Take a listen. His heart is all in on delivering an amazing podcast.

the best covid podcast.

Obviously Covid is in a separate group as individuals must breathe and thus the Covid is widespread. Monkey Pox on the other hand is spread almost exclusively through sexual intimacy. Breathing is important, whilst sex is not, is it to much to expect individuals to slow down on their sexual behavior? Unless you only have one exclusive sexual partner, keep it in your pants weather you are a man or woman…

My partner and I are extremely thankful to Dr Osterholm and his team for this podcast. Along with the critical thinking, we appreciate the the dedications (the shelter animal dedication made us cry). Living in an upside-down world where the pandemic still rages but most people act like it’s 2019, it’s grounding to listen to science-based reports delivered with kindness - and humility about the unknown. Thank you all!

Thank you Dr Osterholm!

It is great to listen to this podcast from the beginning. So much analysis now proven 100% wrong. While claiming to be humble it is a reminder that he is just a man, albeit a doctor, who is misunderstanding current data and guessing on the future. Take the time to pause and look up what actually happened as he lays out his analysis and predictions. It is actually quite entertaining and a good reminder that even "experts" can't see the future. Not in fantasy football, not in the stock market and not in medicine.

I’m so great full for this thoughtful, carefully reasoned and researched podcast. I learn so much from every episode. Dr O is a real humanitarian and at times I’m left in tears.

Have enjoyed these podcasts while trying to stay on top of pandemic info the last year or so. Dr Osterholm lost me in todays episode when he mentions “3 states including Washington DC case numbers have drastically dropped in the last 2 weeks…” umm that’s because DC has not been reporting cases for the last 2 weeks! Check your data Dr O. You also keep quoting lower hospitalization numbers than at previous times in pandemic, even though many/most states have completely changed their metrics in the last several months. In many counties, someone who was originally hospitalized for covid but is now past the 2 week mark of testing positive no longer counts as a covid case while still there for the original covid complication. This kind of information paints a much rosier picture of the pandemic than is going on currently, and many people are getting many repeat infections due to believing “everything’s fine.”

The most informative source I have found after 2 years obsessing about Covid. The podcast is the resource I trust the most, not afraid to say when we just do not yet have the research completed on a particular topic or aspect (also delivered with compassion and humility).

Honest, unbiased and scientific info to help us through this difficult and distressing time! Many thanks to Dr Osterholm and the whole podcast team for being there for us all every week!

You’re a national treasure Dr. Osterholm. The ending to your 100th episode was the best ever. You’re obviously very loved.

Listening to Dr. Olsterholm’s take on the current state of the pandemic around the world and across the U.S. has been reassuring amid the constant confusion, conflict and misinformation we’ve experienced in media, among state and locals governments, presidencies and sadly among family and friends. When Delta hit, it wasn’t a surprise— Thanks to this podcast staying true to facts and scientifically informed observations. Feels like we may be headed for a similar “shock” but if not, at least we’re prepared for the possibility, for better or worse. Thank you!

Thank you for your and the podcast team’s guidance, information, help and all that you are doing to *literally* save lives. I never miss the podcast, because it has provided genuine illumination during a very dark time. Thank you again.

Thank you so much for your work. I turn to you for a balanced and honest look at what is happening. I wish more had your humility. I would love it if you could mention the plight of incarcerated people during this crisis. I may have missed this if you’ve mentioned it before. CIDRAP just released a new study on the impacts of COVID and justice-involved populations, so now would be a welcome time to introduce this horror to your listeners! Thanks again for what you do.

Thank you for continuing to talk about this and give detailed updates when everyone else just seems to not care anymore when Covid is not over. I look forward to getting updates every Thursday. Keep doing what you guys are doing. It may not seem like it but there are people who are still listening and want this information.

I love your podcast thank you so very much fantastic podcast glad I found you on CBS ❤️

I try not to wish away my days, but I am on edge waiting for Thursday to come and the podcast to appear in my feed. Dr Osterholm and staff provide excellent commentary on the pandemic-past, present ,and future. They help make sense of what is happening and the precautions we should still all take as this pandemic “appears” to be waning. As a nurse, I am disgusted that so many leaders, CDC, politicians, and regular people have “decided” that this pandemic is over. Obviously they are ignoring that Dr O has been correct since the beginning. This is not over. New variants will come to us and the world. Vaccines and safety precautions continue to be important to follow. If people could see those near death with Covid. Face the horror of not being able to breathe or organs shutting down due to complications of the disease-both adult and child. If people could SEE the horrors of Covid or long Covid, would it make a difference? I wish I could say yes, but I’m afraid many would still be “blind”.