Hello and welcome to the Oster Home Update, COVID-19, a weekly podcast on the COVID-19

pandemic with Dr. Michael Oster Home. Dr. Oster Home is an internationally recognized

medical detective and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy

or CITRAP at the University of Minnesota. In this podcast, Dr. Oster Home will draw on

more than 45 years of experience investigating infectious disease outbreaks to provide

straight talk on the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm Chris Doll, reporter for CITRAP News. I'm your host

for these conversations. We have several topics to get to today on the podcast, including a look at

the pandemic's impact on global public health programs, the latest in vaccine developments,

and CITRAP's forthcoming COVID-19 viewpoint on contact tracing. But before we get started, Mike,

who are you dedicating this episode of the Oster Home Update 2?

Well, thank you, Chris. It's good to be here. And in keeping with tradition, I am going to

dedicate this. Having talked to a number of people who have done everything they could to protect

themselves by staying indoors, not going out, not socializing. I know that we're all well aware

of the fact of what I would call a growing epidemic of lonely people in this country, people who

want to reach out. They don't want to be socially distanced. They'll be physically distanced,

but not socially distanced. So it reminds me of a song by America back in 1974 for all the lonely people.

And so this podcast is dedicated for all the lonely people thinking that life has passed them by.

And we know better. We've all got to reach out and touch these people and help us all get through

this. So for all the lonely people, this is dedicated to you. I also want to make note that last week,

I very proudly shared with you that Bill Putnam and Dan Follop from Universal Audio had very kindly

offered to provide us with better recording equipment. I have a hard enough time recording

just so I don't wix my mords, but sometimes the quality was also a bit of a challenge. And so

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