Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D. [@chutkaMD]

Guest: Greg A. Poland, M.D. [@drgregpoland]

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, also known as COVID-19, is a novel virus with a rapidly changing genotype. It’s responsible for over a million deaths so far. One of every 300 Americans have died as a result of the virus and infection with COVID-19, and it has been responsible for a reduction in life expectancy in the U.S. for both 2021 and 2022. There are 4 widely available, approved vaccines in the United States, yet an inadequate number of individuals have been immunized and very few are still wearing protective masks. The consequences of this include continued excess morbidity and mortality as well as the development of a variety of new variants of the virus. Our guest for this podcast is Greg A. Poland, M.D., an internist, and the director of vaccine research at the Mayo Clinic. He’s also the lead author of an article published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings in December 2022. The article is entitled “Year 3 of COVID-19: Harsh Truths, Brutal Realities and Glimmers of Hope”. We’ll be discussing some of the key points from this article.

Connect with the Mayo Clinic’s School of Continuous Professional Development online at https://ce.mayo.edu/ or on Twitter @MayoMedEd.