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.

As we near the end of July, with the number of new COVID-19 cases in the US rising by more than

60,000 a day, there's a growing realization that the coronavirus pandemic is with us for the

foreseeable future and will shape how we live, work, and educate our children over the coming months.

Parts of the country have made some adjustments in recent weeks, from mask mandates to new restrictions

on businesses, but will these changes be enough to affect the current trajectory? And what will the

next few months look like? That's what we'll be discussing on this July 30th episode of the Oster

Home Update. We'll also be diving into some of the latest news on vaccines, the nation's continued

problems with testing, and whether all that sanitizing of surfaces makes a difference. But we start,

as always, with Dr. Oster Home's dedication. Who are you dedicating this episode to, Mike?

Thanks, Chris. It's good to be with you again. Thank you. And I want to thank all of our listeners

who are with us today. We know you have many choices from which to choose with regard to

getting your information about the COVID-19 pandemic. And it means a lot to have you with us.

Two weeks ago, I started discussions around the issue of school openings, and I dedicated

the podcast at that time to the children who are obviously at the very heart of that issue.

Last week, I dedicated it to the teachers, all the staff, and all the support individuals within

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