Support for this podcast comes from Give Directly, a nonprofit that lets you send money directly

to people living in extreme poverty.

Due to the pandemic, global poverty rates are rising for the first time in two decades.

In response, Give Directly has delivered contactless cash payments to over a half million

people in seven countries in Africa.

These countries are currently facing their highest COVID infection rates yet, and only

1.5% of Africa has been fully vaccinated.

Having cash lets individuals invest in what they need the most right now.

Visit givedirectly.org slash COVID, and your first gift will be matched up to $200.

Hello and welcome to the Ostrome Update COVID-19, a 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 CITRAP, 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 Dahl, reporter for CITRAP News, and I'm your host for these conversations.

Welcome back everyone to another episode of the Ostrome Update podcast.

If August 2021 is starting to feel a lot like August 2020 to you, you're not alone.

Despite the widespread availability of vaccines, the United States is again seeing an alarming

summer surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, fueled by the now dominant, highly

contagious Delta variant.

And with schools starting in some parts of the country, and children under 12 not yet eligible

...