Hi everyone! Before we get to this week's episode of the Ostrome Update,

I want to remind you that Mugs, T-shirts, buttons, and other Ostrome Update podcast merchandise

is now available through the Minnesota Alumni Market. You can find the link to the merchandise

on the Ostrome Update website or the SidRap homepage. The proceeds help fund research work at SidRap.

Now to this week's episode.

Hello and welcome to the Ostrome Update, COVID-19.

A weekly 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 SidRap, 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 Doll, reporter for SidRap news.

Now I'm your host for these conversations.

It's been an extremely cold week here in Minnesota. That's not unusual in these parts in February,

but this week-long stretch of sub-zero temperatures on top of the pandemic that has kept many of us

inside our homes for months, has even the hardest Minnesotans grumbling and hoping that spring comes

early this year. But in terms of the pandemic, the spring may not bring much of a reprieve,

in Minnesota or elsewhere. While COVID-19 cases in the US continue to decline and the nation's

hospitals are seeing some much needed relief, the B-117 variant is spreading. A new research

indicates that it's likely to follow a path seen in the United Kingdom and other countries

where it has become the dominant strain. On this February 11th episode of the Ostrome update,

we're going to talk about the latest news on the B-117 variant and other variants of concern,

and what their spread means for the US and the rest of the world. We'll also continue our

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