Hello and welcome to the Ostrome Update COVID-19, a podcast on the COVID-19 pandemic with

Dr. Michael Ostrome.

Dr. Ostrome 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. Ostrome 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 Dahl, reporter for CITRAP News, and I'm your host for these conversations.

Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Ostrome Update Podcast.

In a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and select members

of Congress, the Department of Energy concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic most likely arose

from a laboratory leak in the city of Wuhan.

But for other US agencies and a national intelligence panel, believe that the origins of the pandemic

are likely tied to a market in Wuhan, and none of the agencies have much confidence in

their assessments.

Needless to say, the latest news has revived the heated debate about how the pandemic began,

and who is responsible.

It's a question a lot of people have, but may never be answered.

How important is it that we find an answer?

One issue is one of the topics we'll be discussing on this March 9th episode of the podcast.

We'll also provide an update on the current COVID trends here in the US and around the world,

examine what the plan should be for vaccine booster shots, and answer a COVID query about

how long we'll need to be wearing masks.

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