Hi everyone, just a heads up that we have new OSTROM update podcast and Sidrat merchandise

available, including Mugs, T-shirts and socks.

A link is SidRap.um.edu forward slash shop.

You can find the link in the episode description.

Hello and welcome to the OSTROM update, COVID-19, a weekly podcast on the COVID-19 pandemic

with Dr. Michael Oosterholm.

Dr. Oosterholm is an internationally recognized medical detective and director of the Center

for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, or Sidrat, at the University of Minnesota.

In this podcast, Dr. Oosterholm 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 Sidrat news.

I'm your host for these conversations.

As we have discussed in recent weeks on the OSTROM update, the global COVID-19 pandemic

is nowhere close to being over.

Global COVID-19 cases and deaths have started to plateau after climbing for weeks, but

remained at an extraordinarily high level.

India continues to experience horrific rates of infection, and now several south and

southeast Asian countries, some of which had appeared to have the virus under control, are

starting to see unprecedented surges.

Meanwhile here in the United States, the vaccines appear, at least at the moment, to be winning

the race against the variants, with cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continuing their steady

decline as millions of day receive shots.

...