Episode 180: The April Fool's Tragedy

Osterholm Update

CIDRAP

Science

4.8 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In "The April Fool's Tragedy," Dr. Osterholm and guest host Dr. Cory Anderson discuss the devastating layoffs and funding cuts in public health that have unfolded over the past two weeks. Dr. Osterholm also shares the the latest news on the growing measles outbreak in Texas and answers an ID query about COVID lockdowns. <a href="https://infoepi.substack.com/p/cdc-clone-site-rife-with-false-vaccine">CDC clone site, rife with false vaccine claims, hosted by group previously led by HHS Secretary</a> (InfoEpi Lab) <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/osterholm-update-covid-19">MORE EPISODES</a>       <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/support-cidrap">SUPPORT THIS PODCAST</a>

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the Osterholm Update, a podcast on COVID-19 and other infectious diseases with Dr. Michael Osterholm.
0:14.9	Dr. Ostrome is an internationally recognized medical detective and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, or CIDRAP, at the University of Minnesota. In this podcast, Dr. O. Strom
0:26.9	draws on nearly 50 years of experience investigating infectious disease outbreaks to provide
0:31.8	straight talk on the latest infectious disease and public health threats. I'm Chris Dahl,
0:37.1	reporter for Sidrap News, and I'm your host for these conversations.
0:44.3	Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the Osterholm Update podcast.
0:48.3	I'm Dr. Corey Anderson, a Cidwrap researcher and co-director of our chronic wasting disease program,
0:57.8	and I have the honor of filling in for our usual host, Chris Dahl today,
1:00.6	as he takes some well-deserved time off this week.
1:03.4	In the meantime, we have a lot to cover this episode.
1:07.3	The Trump administration's assault on federal and state health agencies is continuing at an unprecedented pace,
1:10.3	all while the U.S. is dealing with the growing
1:12.3	measles outbreak, the ongoing spread of H5N1 avian flu, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19
1:18.8	pandemic. What we have seen in just the past two weeks alone is unlike anything we've seen before,
1:24.6	and it's changing by the hour. Early last week, Trump administration officials
1:29.3	announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was clawing back $11.4 billion in funding
1:35.3	that had been awarded to state and local health departments for COVID response. Around that same time,
1:40.9	the National Institutes of Health terminated dozens of grants and awards that funded COVID-related research.
1:46.7	In response to a CIDRAP news inquiry about the CDC funding cuts, a spokesperson with the Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, said the following.
1:54.9	Quote, the COVID-19 pandemic is over, and HHS will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent
2:02.2	pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago, unquote. Then, on Thursday of last week,
2:08.3	HHS announced plans to cut 10,000 employees spread across its 28 divisions. This was in addition
	...

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