COVID-19: The New Reality

Abstract

SPEAKER: Michael T Osterholm, PhD, MPH Director, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Infectious Disease Research and Policy University of Minnesota REPORTER: Peter J Olson, ELS JAMA Network Let’s face it: We all need a good, old-fashioned reality check at one point or another, and this has never been more true than during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his keynote address on May 4, 2021, at the CSE 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting, Dr Michael Osterholm provided attendees with a frank and fact-laden overview of the current state of the pandemic as of May 2021 that was interwoven with his candid appraisals of the uncharted road ahead. Osterholm’s candor was manifest not only in the hard truths about the pandemic and the virus behind it, but also in his assertions about our ability—or lack thereof—to predict or control our fate. As is often the case, any discussion about the future is rooted in the events of the past, and this is where Osterholm started. Historically, our preparation for pandemics caused by respiratory-transmitted pathogens has been informed largely by our knowledge of the influenza virus and the many influenza pandemics that have transpired within the last century. Citing the 2009 pandemic caused by the H1N1 strain of the influenza virus, which emerged in Mexico and quickly spread to North America, Osterholm noted that the sharp surges and precipitous drops in H1N1 case numbers occurred without any human mitigation, and that the vaccine that was developed ultimately had little influence on the […]