Recorded July 8, 2020. Dr. O’Connell is joined today by Dr. Michael Osterholm, Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, a professor in the Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School, all at the University of Minnesota. Questions from this episode include:Can you comment on the world’s and our country’s preparedness for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic?How do you view the role of the federal government in responding to a public health threat such as COVID-19?In your book, Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs, you outline a nine-point strategy on how to address infectious disease threats. Can you tell us about how these can be useful in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.How are antibody tests coming along, and are they at all reliable yet? Your host is Dr. Ted O’Connell, family physician, educator, and author of numerous textbooks and peer-reviewed articles. He holds academic appointments at UCSF, UC Davis, and Drexel University's medical schools and also founded the Kaiser Permanente Napa-Solano Community Medicine and Global Health Fellowship, the first program in the U.S. to formally combine both community medicine and global health. Follow Ted on Instagram (@tedoconnellmd) and Twitter (@tedoconnell)! He is the author of the book, Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs, in which he not only details the most pressing infectious disease threats of our day but lays out a nine-point strategy on how to address them, with preventing a global flu pandemic at the top of the list.Dr. Osterholm is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and the Council of Foreign Relations. In 2005 Dr. Osterholm was appointed bto the newly established National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity. In 2008, he was appointed to the World Economic Forum Working Group on Pandemics.Previously, Dr. Osterholm served for 24 years in various roles at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the last 15 as state epidemiologist and chief of the Acute Disease Epidemiology Section. While at the MDH, Osterholm and his team were leaders in the area of infectious disease epidemiology. He has led numerous investigations of outbreaks of international importance, including foodborne diseases, the transmission of hepatitis B in healthcare settings, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in healthcare workers. In addition, his team conducted numerous studies regarding infectious diseases in child-care settings, vaccine-preventable diseases, Lyme disease, and other emerging infections. They were also among the first to call attention to the changing epidemiology of foodborne diseases.Dr. Osterholm was the Principal Investigator and Director of the NIH-supported Minnesota Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance and chaired the Executive Committee of the Centers of Excellence Influenza Research and Surveillance network.Dr. Osterholm has been an international leader on the critical concern regarding our preparedness for an influenza pandemic. His invited papers in the journals Foreign Affairs, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Nature detail the threat of an influenza pandemic before the recent pandemic and the steps we must take to better prepare for such events. Dr. Osterholm has also been an international leader on the growing concern regarding the use of biological agents as catastrophic weapons targeting civilian populations.The author of more than 315 papers and abstracts, including 21 book chapters, Dr. Osterholm is a frequently invited guest lecturer on the topic of epidemiology of infectious diseases. He serves on the editorial boards of nine journals. He also has been the recipient of six major research awards from the NIH and the CDC. Links for this episode:Covid Podcasts and Webinars: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/podcasts-webinarsWebsite: www.cidrap.umn.eduTwitter: @mtosterholmFacebook: @CIDRAPInstagram: @michaelosterholm Submit Your Questions for the PodcastSend an email to [email protected] or check out covidpodcast.comWhat Can You Do?You can help spread commonsense about COVID-19 by supporting this podcast. Hit subscribe, leave a positive review, and share it with your friends especially on social media. We can each do our part to ensure that scientifically accurate information about the pandemic spreads faster than rumors or fears. Remember to be vigilant, but remain calm. For the most trusted and real time information on COVID-19 and the coronavirus pandemic, both the CDC and WHO have dedicated web pages to keep the public informed. The information presented in this podcast is intended for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Producers: Christopher Breitigan. Executive Producer: Patrick C. Beeman, MD