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Osterholm Update

Episode 205: Disease Waits for No One

Osterholm Update

CIDRAP

Science

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

<p dir="ltr">In "Disease Waits for No One," Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss how a federal judge temporarily blocked Health Secretary RFK Jr's rollback of childhood vaccine&nbsp;recommendations. Has the damage of this administration's assault on US vaccine policy already been done? Or is there a chance&nbsp;it could be undone? They'll also dive into a&nbsp;report calling for sweeping changes to how the government tracks COVID vaccine harms, review a recent meningitis outbreak in the UK, cover the latest on measles and avian flu, and answer a listener's question about the risk of catching COVID in public.&nbsp;Plus, we'll bring you the latest respiratory&nbsp;illness update and another public health history segment honoring Women's History Month.&nbsp;<br><br><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/early-official-covid-death-tolls-may-have-undercounted-19"><strong>Early official COVID death tolls may have undercounted by 19%</strong></a> (CIDRAP)<br><br><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-vaccines/viewpoint-uncertain-victories-mustn-t-distract-us-staying-focused-defending"><strong>Viewpoint: Uncertain victories mustn’t distract us from staying focused on defending health</strong></a> (CIDRAP and The Vaccine Integrity Project)<br><br><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/new-covid-variant-immune-escape-potential-confirmed-us-22-other-countries"><strong>New COVID variant with immune escape potential confirmed in US, 22 other countries </strong></a>(CIDRAP)&nbsp;<br><br><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/california-records-avian-flu-northern-elephant-seals"><strong>California records avian flu in northern elephant seals </strong></a>(CIDRAP)<br><br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qjzGG6ya9M"><em>All My Babies </em></a>(Georgia Department of Health)<br>&nbsp;</p> <p>Resources for vaccine and public health advocacy:</p> <p><a href="https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/get-involved/"><strong>Voices for Vaccines</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://familiesfightingflu.org/take-action/"><strong>Families Fighting Flu</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://vaccinateyourfamily.org/get-involved/"><strong>Vaccinate Your Family</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://shotatlife.org/take-action/"><strong>Shot@Life</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://aspr.hhs.gov/MRC/Pages/index.aspx"><strong>Medical Reserve Corps</strong></a></p> <p>Learn more about the <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/vaccine-integrity-project"><strong>Vaccine Integrity Project</strong></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/osterholm-update-covid-19"><strong>MORE EPISODES</strong></a>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/support-cidrap"><strong>SUPPORT THIS PODCAST</strong></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Music:</strong></p> <p>"Beauty Flow" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)<br>Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License</p>

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello and welcome to the Oström Update, a podcast about infectious diseases and public health,

0:13.8

featuring Dr. Michael Osterholm.

0:17.0

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.

0:26.7

In this podcast, Dr. Ostrome draws an over 50 years of experience in infectious disease epidemiology to provide straight talk on the latest infectious disease outbreaks,

0:40.6

counter misinformation and disinformation about vaccines,

0:46.0

and distill the complex and ever-evolving public health threats facing our world.

0:49.5

I'm Chris Dahl, reporter for Sidrapp News,

1:00.4

and I'm your host for these conversations. Welcome back, everyone, to another episode of the Oström Update podcast.

1:04.9

In a ruling last week that temporarily halted a year of upheaval of U.S. vaccine policy by Health and Human Services

1:11.3

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy wrote that there is a

1:17.3

method to how decisions about the clinical use of vaccines have historically been made in the country,

1:22.5

a method that is both, quote, scientific in nature and codified into law by procedural requirements, unquote.

1:29.9

Unfortunately, the government has disregarded those methods and thereby undermine the integrity

1:34.8

of its actions, Judge Murphy wrote in his decision on the case, which was brought by the

1:39.3

American Academy of Pediatrics and other U.S. medical organizations, the temporary injunction granted by Murphy,

1:46.1

for the moment at least, means that the federal government must restore the vaccine

1:50.3

recommendations that were in place when Kennedy took office. But as Dr. Ostrome noted in

1:55.4

comments to media outlets, the temporary legal victory won't put the genie back in the bottle.

2:01.2

And that's one of the issues we'll be examining on this March 26th episode of the Oathrome Update,

2:06.3

episode number 205.

2:08.4

Has the damage from Kennedy's assault on U.S. vaccine policy already been done?

2:12.9

And can it be undone?

...

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