A weekly report on the COVID-19 pandemic from infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH. Dr. Osterholm is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota and has spent a career investigating outbreaks. Since 2005, he has emphasized supply chain and other vulnerabilities and a critical need for pandemic preparedness. In this podcast, Dr. Osterholm dissects the latest COVID-19 news, data, and guidance.
CIDRAP’s Chris Dall, MA, is the cohost of the Osterholm Update and a reporter for CIDRAP News. http://www.cidrap.umn.edu
","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/osterholm-update-744108"},"episode":{"title":"Episode 203: Somebody to Lean On","slug":"episode-203-somebody-to-lean-on","published_at":"2026-02-26T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/osterholm-update-744108/episode-203-somebody-to-lean-on","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/osterholm-update-744108","url":"https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-vaccines/episode-203-somebody-lean","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/www.cidrap.umn.edu/sites/default/files/media/covid-19-podcasts/OU_E203_v2_RG.mp3","summary":"<p dir=\"ltr\">In \"Somebody to Lean On,\" Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss vaccine updates including the FDA’s back-and-forth on the Moderna vaccine, leadership shake-ups at institutions like the CDC, and the current state of measles in the US. Dr. Osterholm will also bring you a respiratory virus update, including current vaccine guidance for flu, COVID and RSV. <br><br><a href=\"https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/influenza-vaccines/cidrap-op-ed-fda-refused-review-flu-vaccine-contrary-evidence-now-agency\"><strong>Op-Ed: The FDA refused to review a flu vaccine, contrary to evidence. Now the agency reversed itself</strong></a><strong> </strong>(CIDRAP) <br><br><a href=\"https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/adult-non-flu-vaccines/state-us-vaccine-policy\"><strong>The State of US Vaccine Policy</strong></a><strong> </strong>(CIDRAP and Unbiased Science)<br><br><a href=\"https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobial-stewardship/dentists-still-write-millions-prescriptions-year-antibiotic-life\"><strong>Dentists still write millions of prescriptions a year for an antibiotic with life-threatening risks</strong></a><strong> </strong>(CIDRAP)<br> </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 Yo…","meta_description":"In \"Somebody to Lean On,\" Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall discuss vaccine updates including the FDA’s back-and-forth on the Moderna vaccin…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":null,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/osterholm-update-744108/episodes/episode-203-somebody-to-lean-on/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/osterholm-update-744108/episode-203-somebody-to-lean-on.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}