Hello and welcome to the Ostrome Update, a podcast on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases

with Dr. Michael Ostrome. Dr. Ostrome is an internationally recognized medical detective

and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, or SIDRAP, at

the University of Minnesota. In this podcast, Dr. Ostrome draws on nearly 50 years of experience

investigating infectious disease outbreaks to provide straight talk on the latest infectious disease

and public health threats. I'm Chris Dahl, reporter for SIDRAP News, and I'm your host for

these conversations. Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Ostrome Update podcast.

Late last week, US intelligence agencies issued a declassified report on what they know about

the potential origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In short, while the report provided some new insights, it did not settle the debate over whether

the pandemic originated from a natural spillover from animals to humans or from a leak at a Chinese

laboratory where scientists were studying coronaviruses. That's one of the topics we're going to discuss

on this June 29th episode of the podcast after we take a look at the international and national

COVID trends. We'll also discuss the FDA's recommendation for the next round of COVID-19 vaccines

and some parting words from the outgoing CDC director. Answer a COVID query about the

public health value of the COVID vaccines, review the latest flu data from the Southern hemisphere,

and talk about SIDRAP's chronic wasting disease research, and we'll share a moment of joy

submission from one of our listeners. But before we get started, as always, we'll begin with Dr.

Ostrome's opening comments and dedication. Thank you, Chris, and welcome back to all the podcast

family. It means a great deal to be able to be with you again here today. And anyone who might be

listening to the podcast for the first time, I hope that we're able to provide you with the kind

of information that you're looking for that is helpful to you in responding to COVID and the other

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