You are a national treasure, Dr. O., and I am so grateful that you are recovering well. I so appreciate all of your updates, done with such compassion. I could listen to your voice all day. Rest and recover fully!
Dr Osterholm, I Pray that you and Fern continue to recover with few setbacks. I have been watching and sharing your podcast for the past few years. It has been a Godsend to myself and my friends. I have yet to catch it and never want to. I am also extremely careful and this podcast just helped me make an important decision that has been weighing on me. Thank you again for all that you have done and do for all of us.
Thanks to these podcasts these past 3 years my anxiety was helped and i was able to help my family stay as safe as possible. I had covid in the two year mark. I hope you start feeling better soon.
God bless you and your wife. Thank you for all your work and passion on trying to help prevent and mitigate the spread. I wish you and your wife a speedy and full recovery
I too have had COVID with very minimal symptoms (just a terrible headache a runny nose) and I felt so guilty. I took great care for the first several years. I am understanding of your feelings. Again, thank you for continuing to broadcast!
Thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge with us. I very much appreciate it. It has really helped me make decisions about how to deal. I am sorry that you and your friends have gotten sick. I hope that you all get over it quickly.
I hope Dr Osterholm gets well soon. He's been a shining light in a sea of ignorant darkness. I will continue to wear my N95 mask in public places when I can. Thank you for all the information you have provided.
I'm sorry that you, your wife and friend got covid, and I very much appreciate you sharing the details. There are still some of us who also are trying our best not to catch it. You're the expert that my husband and I have followed for as long as you've been doing this wonderful podcast. It has helped keep us well. We hope you recover soon!
Well Michael......I'm 68 and I have essentially the exact same story. It happened to myself and my 29 year old son 1 month ago. Similarly after retracing our steps we have no clue where we picked up the virus. Fortunately after 3 to 4 days we both were significantly recovered. Granted we are both in very very excellent physical health as well as highly fit. During my experience with the virus I made sure to keep our protein intake high. We both cleared the virus according to a rapid test within 1 week. 5000 IU of 3vitamine D daily for the last 3 years was also pat of our protocols.
So sorry you have become infected and pray your experience, your dear wife’s and friend’s, are quickly resolved. Thank you, again, for EVERYTHING you and your remarkable staff do to bring reason and data to us all, and with such great compassion and comfort. Now, get some rest. ❤
Get well soon Dr. O, and your wife and friends too. The silver lining I took away when I had covid in February was that I'd survived the bugger! It was a relief, myself being considered CEV. My vaccinated and boosted status during my infection gave me reassurance, and I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful to you, as well, for all your kind posts over the pandemic. X
I think obsessing about where or how one got infected is pointless. The virus is ubiquitous. Getting infected is not a reflection on one’s intelligence, conscientiousness or worth. I support getting vaccinated and taking good precautions. I had a mild case of Covid last Fall. It never occurred to me to think of it as some kind of personal failing.
To our wonderful Dr. Osterholm: Here’s hoping and wishing for complete and total recovery soon with no long COVID in your, your wife’s, and your friend’s future. It’s my firm guess that you contracted the virus in the elevator if you were not wearing your N95’s. Since the beginning of the pandemic I have treated public hallway spaces and especially the elevators in my building as high risk zones. One has no idea whether someone has just sneezed or coughed in that contained air box, they exit, and a few seconds later, you enter and breathe it all in. I also close my eyes in the elevator to not let airborne virus in. Lest I seem smug, though we have not gotten COVID through the execution of this and other careful protocols, I’m sure it’s only a question of time because we are with our 7 year old grandson and his parents once a week, and they take no precautions anymore. We don’t wear our masks around them for those hours. We are in Osterholm’s exact age group and are very worried for ourselves. All vaccinated up, waning, but throwing caution to the wind for the cherished opportunity to enjoy them unfettered. I hope we can get Paxlovid when the time comes, and that we don’t end up with long COVID either.
I wore anti-viral mask (RaspoKare FluFighter mask) religiously when I had any contacts with people. I got a mild case of Covid and was successfully treated with Paxlovid. I could not figure how I got infected as I live alone. The only thing I could think of is inadequate hand sanitizing. I did neglect to sanitize my hands sometimes when I got in my car and removed my mask.
Lifting Prayers for a speedy recovery for Dr. O and his family. If there is anyone still doubting the effectiveness of being protected by vaccine, we should stop the debates. The evidence is clear. Let’s work to keep the medical communities and governments accountable for adequate prevention and preparedness.
Wish you a speedy recovery and love the show! But this isn’t a mystery. It’s clear one of your friends you spent time with unmasked was asymptotic and the testing failed to catch it.
Agreed. Dr. O is my main source for this guidance, but the protocol of guests testing before parties never felt safe enough for me. The fact that the tests didn't register positive until the third day of symptoms makes me completely unwilling to rely on testing as a preventitive measure. I'm a contented 71 year-old hermit with no plans to resume pot lucks.
@@lshwadchuck5643 Rapid tests (aka antigen/LFT) aren’t that great for catching asymptomatic cases. I only use molecular tests like Lucira or Cue. They are more expensive but I trust the results more.
@@amiesparkle00 Good to know. I don't have the sort of family and friends I'd be able to get to follow this protocol. I'm sure Dr. O's cred is a big part of the reason it has worked for him till now.
@@bethchacon4924 n95s are very effective. Masks like 3M Auroras filter out more on the order of 99.99+ % of particles. No idea what Dr O wears. But the social gatherings in the home are much more likely the culprit. He even stated he was symptomatic for 3 days before testing positive. And many people are asymptomatic. Don’t trust the tests myself. Especially with newer variants.
@@lshwadchuck5643 I just think it’s a combo of everyone loosening up on their Covid vigilance and the fact that the dominant variant, XBB is the most infectious one yet.
I havn’t taken the time to listen to your podcast for 6+ months. As I’ve said before cut your runtime in half & double your audience. Best wishes Doctor🙏🏼Being high risk & vaccinated still counting my blessings to (so far)escape this pandemic 🤞🏼
I know how he feels, having dodged covid until relatively recently, despite being extremely careful. It is very humbling. Looking forward to another update in two weeks and hearing that he is much better and over the worst.
@@DiamondLil I would say that "superior" is an interesting word. No, I am not in competition with other people, but rather with a wily, aggressive virus that seems hell bent on getting you no matter how many defences you throw up against it.
@@DiamondLil my husband had Covid twice and I didn’t get it. I wonder if i was immune or just lucky. My family thinks I overdo being careful. They get annoyed when I put a mask on around them when they are coughing and sneezing. Very uncomfortable situation.
@@tunneling-nanotubes Hi A, I have no idea how the world of youtube comments works! I agree with you that it is the virus that humbles you when you get it, no matter how hard we try to avoid it.
Did everyone have their mask on in the elevator? Best wishes for a quick recovery for everyone! Another question, a common area like the hallway between your door and the elevator? Movement of virus thru the HVAC system?
Sending well wishes north for a full recovery! 😍 I recently watched "Anatomy of a Pandemic" from PBS News Hour, Dec. 2009. It's as if a much younger Dr. Osterholm (and a much younger Dr. Fauci) was looking into a crystal ball. I had a very eerie feeling watching that documentary. I just don't think the human race is capable of learning this lesson.
I’m so sorry you got Covid. I hope everything is ok. I’m severely disabled with cerebral palsy and I have asthma. My husband is also high risk so we don’t go out in public at all. I can’t keep my mask on so when I do get to do something, it has to be private with them and my husband masked. He always wears a N95 mask when there’s no window between him and the person in drive thrus. He constantly sanitizes his hands. 3 years of this has been hard especially with no end in sight yet. I hope they let us get another bivalent booster soon since we got ours in September. I’m so scared of the dismantling of the tracking system and the end of the PHE in May. Thank you for your continued work and support for us. I have a question. I have swallowing problems due to my cerebral palsy and I can’t swallow large pills. Heaven forbid we get Covid, what treatments can I get if I can’t swallow the pills? This is really scary to us. Thank you 😊
@@klarity1111 I totally agree. A lot of things have and are ending too quickly. If it was like the flu now, that’d be different. We’re still having too many deaths every day even though it’s much better than it was. And it’s not even seasonal yet. We just don’t know what this thing is going to do. I’m hoping it will keep getting milder and will stay in the Omicron family so maybe we can get better shots to actually prevent the virus. I’m glad you have avoided Covid so far. Keep it up and keep the faith that there’ll be a breakthrough soon and we won’t have to worry about it anymore.
Thank you, Dr. Osterholm for the past 3 years plus of keeping it real and based on science. As data sources start to go away, I so appreciate your continued podcast. You are an outstanding scientist, epidemiologist, educator, and humanist. Thank you for caring. D.B. Pharm.D.
I've always wondered how any person with half a brain can claim that Osterholm is "based on science." This man is a charlatan. A quack. A mountebank. He shills for Big Pharma and he will never apologize for it, not even on his deathbed.
@@Patrick_Ross "Dr" Lp78Ch is much worse than a troll. He just declared me a lunatic for refusing to disagree with him, "Dr" Mercola, "Dr" Simone Gold, the people with America's Frontline "Doctors" and the Great Barrington Declaration, and the Anti-vax chiropractors on the subject of vaccines, masks, and pretty much everything else Covid related. I cannot begin to tell you how many friendships I have cut off and ended over the last several years with people just like "Dr" Lp78Ch who engage in and spread the anti-vax, anti-mask, and other disinformation stuff concerning this airborne vascular virus and demand that we must accept such stuff as the "TRUTH", and the same goes for those who demanded that I accept "Trump won the 2020 Election!!!" or "Jesus is the Messiah and God in the Flesh" as "THE TRUTH".
Putting two and two together, perhaps one of your guests even though tested might have been in that small interval between getting the virus and having it show up in tests. You can only do so much to protect yourself. I my self traveled from Mexico City to Texas to get a 4th shot, got invited by family members to a bar and got infected the same day I had my jab. In a way all the better, I found out in my case I had a good immune response. I still try to avoid getting infected twice, but there is only so much you can do unless you only stay home. Hope you get well soon!
To reduce the risk of getting COVID and spreading it to others, we actually need to follow multiple mitigation measures. A virologist named Dr. Ian Mackay put together a chart that lists 10 or so strategies to reduce the spread of Covid designed like slices of Swiss cheese, each mitigation measure alone has "holes" and cannot do the job by itself. As we know, the current vaccines only reduce the number of people who land in the hospital or die right away if they get infected, and the at home rapid tests are often not accurate (particularly with the current Omicron subvariants and most especially if one has an asymptomatic form of the virus). Wearing high quality masks like KN95 and N95 in enclosed shared air and crowded settings is just ONE tool we should use, we also need to use other tools like upgrading the ventilation and air quality in our buildings and facilities (MERV13 air filters or better, HEPA air purifiers), installing Far UVC ultraviolet lighting in our facilities that actually help kill or at least significantly reduce the spread of COVID and other viruses in conjunction with the upgraded ventilation; avoiding or at least limiting our time in crowded settings (particularly when such places are poorly ventilated), trying to do our on person social gatherings outdoors whenever possible, and of course quarantining when we have any symptoms which likely signal Covid and/or if we test Positive for the virus. I sure wish Dr. O would talk about and acknowledge the importance of upgrading ventilation and air quality, etc... in addition to wearing high quality masks.
With all due respect to Dr Osterholm, it matters that we determine if the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged from a laboratory. It’s a matter of research integrity when virologists and evolutionary biologists refuse to acknowledge the moderate to high probability (Bayesian) of that hypothesis. Further, after the millions of deaths, it is-as the WHO Director-General-put it-a moral imperative. It is a scientific and moral imperative especially if this virus resulted from gain of function research in a lab. The PRC authorities refused to allow a proper forensic investigation when it was needed at the outset. That in and of itself questions their sincerity in determining the cause-a cause they have declined to investigate probably because they know quite well this virus followed from a lab accident when GOF research was being done at BSL-2 containment.
Dear Doctor Osterholm: Happy Belated Birthday from me in St. Petersburg, Florida. I hope you recover soon. My birthday is also on March 10th! My husband began feeling sick on March 8. He tested positive on March 9. I started feeling symptoms on March 10 (birthday plans cancelled…) and finally tested positive on March 12. I began taking Paxlovid on March 12 and after 2 doses felt much better with only sniffles and a funny throat. I finished Paxlovid. I tested negative on March 17, five days later, and felt quite good. But then I got the sniffles again and have been testing positive since March 22. It seems that our experiences are quite similar (except that you got to celebrate your birthday before getting sick). I never expected to get covid rebound as I feel myself to be a fit and active 68 year old woman. I wonder how it would have been if I had not taken Paxlovid, but we will never know. My husband at age 70 chose not to take Paxlovid and tested positive for 11 days after he first started having symptoms but finally got his negative test and continues to test negative. I hope you and I will test negative soon. Thank you for all you do and once again Happy Belated Birthday from another March 10th birthday person!
Don't forget, dear Dr Osterholm, that Dr Fauci also had a recurrence of sickness from COVID; he took another course of Paxlovid, and I hope that you will do the same. You have been a BIG beacon of light to many thousands, through your williness to be on national TV news at some of the most difficult times....I'm remembering in particular January of 2022. Thanks for your help, and we will all keep you in our sweetest thoughts.
My mom was asymptomatic and tested +. We know because her friend had symptoms. However, with theses newer Omicron subvariants it took three days for symptomatic Dr. O to test +.
There are many, many ways to transmit the virus but test negative on a home test: to begin with, you can do the test wrong. 2. You are on the cusp of detectability, and in an hour would have tested positive, 3. you are in contact with someone who has no immune capability at all, so they don't have any ability to fight it off at all, and finally, 4. you aren't as asymptomatic as you think. That minor GI problem you thought was too much salsa, or that allergy from the pollen/cat/mold? Yup: COVID.
Best wishes, Dr. Osterholm! Since none of you tested positive until a day or two after symptom onset, I can't help but think that you could have been infected due to one of you being exposed before your dinner, thus showing no symptoms. Isn't that a possibility?
Dr. Osterholm, Sincere hopes your family and yourself get well soon. I have listened to your podcast since about number 50 and appreciate your objective views. You may appreciate that I was skeptical of what you would say given the politics around this and I may not lean your way as an independent vs progressive. However up until a few podcasts ago, I quoted you to my friends. While I have listened to some of your colleagues who have been much more political than you, you have been a fact based person. As a caveat, I will still listen to you although I was quite surprised by you spending a bunch of time arguing about the origin of Covid and your beliefs around it not being from the Lab in Wuhan. Again as most educated folks understand, depending who you listen to, your will hear not facts, but choosing of facts that help their viewpoint. A sad time for all of us that true facts not bias should be what we hear. But with social media and people going down rabbit holes, that we live in such polarized times. As you mentioned in that podcast, you received many nasty emails/threats. THOSE FOLKS ARE WRONG! The ability to logically debate things are at the heart of democracy and threatening you is just wrong and I am sorry you received these. However, I think there are more facts than just yours. I want to know about the origin not to criticize but to learn. As mentioned again in this podcast you have your belief that this has no bearing on the future. So hypothetically if it came from the lab and the US did fund gain of function research, we should be learning about not doing this and not giving that option to anyone. We should address that no monies should go to labs without appropriate direct inspection. As you said many times, can you believe what you heard from China this week. If this is true, why did China not come out sooner. Also what else did China put online? I will continue to be a listener and again hope for a quick recovery, but I will agree to disagree with you on the theory related to the lab. Anything that comes from a China is a way to protect them from the growing criticism. If you want to continue to cover this then I suggest you have a discussion of Gain of Function, why people wanted to keep this going. Also cover where US monies went when gain of Function research were lifted. (See CIDRAP discussion) www.cidrap.umn.edu/dual-use-research/feds-lift-gain-function-research-pause-offer-guidance. Again please get well soon and please continue to discuss COVID both in the US and globally as I will use you information to assist me in travel decisions.
You didn’t get it from the elevator. Someone you were around had it probably asymptomatic and were testing negative. Especially if you’re just rapid testing.
I hope you get well soon! Interesting it took so long for you and yours to emit enough antigen for the test to pick it up. I haven't been keeping up as well as I used to but the last I remember hearing is that viral load is highest a few hours before until a day after symptom onset. Maybe that was just PCR? Like maybe there is a ton of RNA but not much protein at first?
I’ve followed and enjoyed your broadcast from the beginning. Thank you. Just a thought, perhaps the recent Cochrane study concerning masks was actually worthy and shouldn’t have been attached as it was.
Thinking about your situation? Hoping you feel much better soon. Could the ventilation or plumbing in your building be a possibility? Maybe the hallway? Thank you for your wisdom and wonderful podcast!
I benefit from listening to your podcast and wish you a speedy recovery. While I guess you could have contracted Covid from your 27 second elevator ride, it seems improbable. Is it possible that Covid could have spread through your heating system or ductwork? Relatedly, do you know if nearby neighbors contracted Covid at that time? Sorry to play detective and I imagine you have thought of everything by now. Just thought I would take a shot.
I’m sorry you got Covid but testing isn’t 100% accurate and neither are n95s ☹️ The concert you attended sounded really risky too and why didn’t you mask in the elevator?
Sympathies and hope for quick recovery for Dr. Osterholm et al. Any thought to vaccine-induced shedding (exosomes?) for the infections? I understand evidence of the possibility is very limited but also seems to support the hypothesis. However The fact that 3 of you were infected and the next 4 guests were seems to suggest an outside route of infection encountered by the 3 of you. However it may be good to understand the vaccine status of the next 4 guests and reference the Cleveland Clinic study (were the next 4 any less vaccinated?).
Very courageous to share your own journey Dr Osterholm! When China opened up at the end of 2022, the entire country of 1.4 billion people basically went through the Covid wave in two weeks. Many people simply didn't know how they caught it. Many young people even experienced the symptoms. I think this had to do with the country being in a "sterile" environment for too long and did not get low dose exposure or environment exposure (I believe non pathogenic microbes can give us cross immunity). Maybe we should focus more on building our natural immunity with caution, e.g. avoiding potentially high concentration exposure like the elevator and increasing more outdoor human interactions.
Feel better, doc. My non-vaccinated parents are 75 and 76, and had about 4 days of minor cold symptoms, when they had Covid. I’ve had their vitamin D levels around 80 for three years, as the science shows that that above all else matters. As to how you got infected, viruses transmit through N-95s, but if you still want to believe in N-95s, think about your eyes. You are brave to speak of this, through what must be horrendously painful cognitive dissonance.
I do wonder, when people who tried this hard to avoid their inevitable COVID infection, and they finally "fail" and get it.... will they start a new round of zero COVID? Or realize they were maybe overreacting and missed out on so much of their short life trying to avoid it. Was it really worth it after all?
First of all, if someone already had covid there is no more "zero covid". Does that mean just keep getting it over and over? That is certainly likely if one takes zero precautions. As someone who has not had covid yet, has multiple risk factors for serious illness/long covid, and plan not to ever getting it, I see no reason to discontinue the protocol: avoid crowded venues (not a hardship for me as there are none of interest) and wear a well-fitted N95 (including in empty elevators). These two practices are not difficult, expensive, or anything worse than mildly annoying in the case of the N95. So it is worth it for me. Obviously this is not the case for everyone. To each their own.
Definitely worth it. Precautions kept me from getting infected until October 2022 when I let down my guard and went on a cruise. Delaying my infection kept me from getting one of the earlier, more deadly variants. I am alive and recovered unlike many friends who are now 6’ under.
AND.... anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of people (around 25 million in the US alone) who have gotten COVID dealing with Long Covid and a wide variety of long term health issues that sometimes have ended up resulting in really serious consequences, not to mention several million Americans becoming debilitated enough to not be able to work or earn a living as a result of getting COVID.
It would be interesting to look at any security camera footage of the elevator to see if someone was coughing and/or sneezing. We wish all you guys a speedy recovery.
You DID hear him say that those 5 respirations in 27 seconds would have had to have been from an amazingly infectious person having been in the elevator, right? And that he knows that is statistically unlikely to be the source of infection for all 3 people? The man is trying to deal with shame that makes no sense. Every person will be infected over time unless they go nowhere and see no one. That's difficult to do over many years.
@@Cathy-xi8cb I did not hear anything that sounded like shame. It is perfectly logical for an individual to ask how they got sick no matter the illness and no matter the precautions. And it is particularly logical for an infectious disease specialist to look carefully and think critically about transmission given that is a HUGE part of the job.
@@JC-justchillin Then you don't know very many MDs. The thing about the union card is a dead giveaway. He isn't saying he is being logical; he is saying that logic didn't protect him and he doesn't deserve to be part of the group. That is emotion, and the emotion is...shame.
@@Cathy-xi8cb Shame is an emotion - but all emotion is not shame. If you have listened to his podcasts throughput the pandemic you will observe that he is obviously NOT ashamed of being emotional. A balanced person understands the necessity of both logic and emotion (and perhaps less definable aspects) when moving through this complex life and also knows there is not so clear a dividing line at times. They might also understand the value of humor (see also "union card"). Was he being unrealistic in thinking he could avoid covid whilst also participating in large events in enclosed spaces? Downplaying the possibility that a small elevator might have held several contagious people right before he got on? Over reliant on his N95s in crowds (they are 95 not 100)? These are questions he surely has asked himself. As an emotional person and a logical scientist.
Wow. Simply amazing. He continues to call the Cochrane review a farce. Yet he is the perfect anecdotal evidence that supports the Cochrane review. I'm laughing my head off. This is some great news. I'm celebrating this Covid case because it proves that "Dr" Osterholm is the author of misinformation. He proves himself a liar. Absolutely love it!!!!!
@@JC-justchillin you're right. So Dr. Osterholm has absolutely no evidence masks work. He's basing all his beliefs on just that. Just personal beliefs without any evidence. You made my point.
There has never been a claim that masks are 100% effective at preventing infection. They are 95% in a ten minute exposure then diminishing as time exposure increases. You fundamentally misunderstand how they work.
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You are a national treasure, Dr. O., and I am so grateful that you are recovering well. I so appreciate all of your updates, done with such compassion. I could listen to your voice all day. Rest and recover fully!
Dr Osterholm, I Pray that you and Fern continue to recover with few setbacks. I have been watching and sharing your podcast for the past few years. It has been a Godsend to myself and my friends.
I have yet to catch it and never want to. I am also extremely careful and this podcast just helped me make an important decision that has been weighing on me.
Thank you again for all that you have done and do for all of us.
Thanks to these podcasts these past 3 years my anxiety was helped and i was able to help my family stay as safe as possible. I had covid in the two year mark. I hope you start feeling better soon.
Feel better soon Doc! Love your podcast and know it has helped me immensely last 3 years.
God bless you and your wife. Thank you for all your work and passion on trying to help prevent and mitigate the spread. I wish you and your wife a speedy and full recovery
I too have had COVID with very minimal symptoms (just a terrible headache a runny nose) and I felt so guilty. I took great care for the first several years. I am understanding of your feelings. Again, thank you for continuing to broadcast!
Thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge with us. I very much appreciate it. It has really helped me make decisions about how to deal. I am sorry that you and your friends have gotten sick. I hope that you all get over it quickly.
Dr. Osterholm, so sorry to hear this. I can only wish you a speedy recovery and appreciate your honesty. God bless you!
Sending love to you. Please get well. The world needs you.
I hope Dr Osterholm gets well soon. He's been a shining light in a sea of ignorant darkness. I will continue to wear my N95 mask in public places when I can. Thank you for all the information you have provided.
I'm sorry that you, your wife and friend got covid, and I very much appreciate you sharing the details. There are still some of us who also are trying our best not to catch it. You're the expert that my husband and I have followed for as long as you've been doing this wonderful podcast. It has helped keep us well. We hope you recover soon!
Thank you for all you do - I wait for your podcast to get information I trust. Feel better!
Well Michael......I'm 68 and I have essentially the exact same story. It happened to myself and my 29 year old son 1 month ago. Similarly after retracing our steps we have no clue where we picked up the virus. Fortunately after 3 to 4 days we both were significantly recovered. Granted we are both in very very excellent physical health as well as highly fit. During my experience with the virus I made sure to keep our protein intake high. We both cleared the virus according to a rapid test within 1 week. 5000 IU of 3vitamine D daily for the last 3 years was also pat of our protocols.
Prayers that you recover quickly , Dr. Osterholm. Thank you for the podcast , we so greatly appreciate it.
Thank goodness that you are recovering. Happy late birthday! Thank you for your service and your honesty. Covid is everywhere - still.
Considering your review of the Cochran opinion, I am certainly glad to have continued to wear my mask!
So sorry you have become infected and pray your experience, your dear wife’s and friend’s, are quickly resolved. Thank you, again, for EVERYTHING you and your remarkable staff do to bring reason and data to us all, and with such great compassion and comfort. Now, get some rest. ❤
Wish you all speedy recovery - have seen this show many times. Doctor our prayers are with you.
Best wishes for a swift and complete recovery, Dr Osterholm!
I'm so sorry it finally caught up with you Dr. Really stinks. I wish you a speedy recovery. I was really hoping this horrific thing was going away.
Get well soon Dr. O, and your wife and friends too. The silver lining I took away when I had covid in February was that I'd survived the bugger! It was a relief, myself being considered CEV. My vaccinated and boosted status during my infection gave me reassurance, and I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful to you, as well, for all your kind posts over the pandemic. X
May you recover quickly with no long Covid19 symptoms. Thank you.
Get well soon Dr Osterholm!
I think obsessing about where or how one got infected is pointless. The virus is ubiquitous.
Getting infected is not a reflection on one’s intelligence, conscientiousness or worth.
I support getting vaccinated and taking good precautions. I had a mild case of Covid last Fall. It never occurred to me to think of it as some kind of personal failing.
To our wonderful Dr. Osterholm: Here’s hoping and wishing for complete and total recovery soon with no long COVID in your, your wife’s, and your friend’s future.
It’s my firm guess that you contracted the virus in the elevator if you were not wearing your N95’s. Since the beginning of the pandemic I have treated public hallway spaces and especially the elevators in my building as high risk zones. One has no idea whether someone has just sneezed or coughed in that contained air box, they exit, and a few seconds later, you enter and breathe it all in. I also close my eyes in the elevator to not let airborne virus in.
Lest I seem smug, though we have not gotten COVID through the execution of this and other careful protocols, I’m sure it’s only a question of time because we are with our 7 year old grandson and his parents once a week, and they take no precautions anymore. We don’t wear our masks around them for those hours.
We are in Osterholm’s exact age group and are very worried for ourselves. All vaccinated up, waning, but throwing caution to the wind for the cherished opportunity to enjoy them unfettered. I hope we can get Paxlovid when the time comes, and that we don’t end up with long COVID either.
I wore anti-viral mask (RaspoKare FluFighter mask) religiously when I had any contacts with people. I got a mild case of Covid and was successfully treated with Paxlovid. I could not figure how I got infected as I live alone. The only thing I could think of is inadequate hand sanitizing. I did neglect to sanitize my hands sometimes when I got in my car and removed my mask.
Lifting Prayers for a speedy recovery for Dr. O and his family. If there is anyone still doubting the effectiveness of being protected by vaccine, we should stop the debates. The evidence is clear. Let’s work to keep the medical communities and governments accountable for adequate prevention and preparedness.
Amen!!!
Great discussion and informative. Thank you 😊✨✨✨
Wish you a speedy recovery and love the show! But this isn’t a mystery. It’s clear one of your friends you spent time with unmasked was asymptotic and the testing failed to catch it.
Agreed. Dr. O is my main source for this guidance, but the protocol of guests testing before parties never felt safe enough for me. The fact that the tests didn't register positive until the third day of symptoms makes me completely unwilling to rely on testing as a preventitive measure. I'm a contented 71 year-old hermit with no plans to resume pot lucks.
@@lshwadchuck5643 Rapid tests (aka antigen/LFT) aren’t that great for catching asymptomatic cases. I only use molecular tests like Lucira or Cue. They are more expensive but I trust the results more.
@@amiesparkle00 Good to know. I don't have the sort of family and friends I'd be able to get to follow this protocol. I'm sure Dr. O's cred is a big part of the reason it has worked for him till now.
@@bethchacon4924 n95s are very effective. Masks like 3M Auroras filter out more on the order of 99.99+ % of particles. No idea what Dr O wears. But the social gatherings in the home are much more likely the culprit. He even stated he was symptomatic for 3 days before testing positive. And many people are asymptomatic. Don’t trust the tests myself. Especially with newer variants.
@@lshwadchuck5643 I just think it’s a combo of everyone loosening up on their Covid vigilance and the fact that the dominant variant, XBB is the most infectious one yet.
My sister had a very bad case two weeks ago but the Paxlovid worked well
Now my best friend in Seattle is very ill.
😔
I havn’t taken the time to listen to your podcast for 6+ months. As I’ve said before cut your runtime in half & double your audience. Best wishes Doctor🙏🏼Being high risk & vaccinated still counting my blessings to (so far)escape this pandemic 🤞🏼
I just play the episode at 2x. Problem solved
Get well Dr. Osterholm and keep up the good work
Hope you recover soon.
❤️
Checking in. How're you feeling, Sir? I'll wait for the next video. Best wishes.
Stay strong!
John & Robin 👩❤️💋👨🙏
I know how he feels, having dodged covid until relatively recently, despite being extremely careful. It is very humbling. Looking forward to another update in two weeks and hearing that he is much better and over the worst.
Humbling is an interesting word. No offense (really, I have no animus here), were you feeling superior to others for being more careful than they?
@@DiamondLil I would say that "superior" is an interesting word. No, I am not in competition with other people, but rather with a wily, aggressive virus that seems hell bent on getting you no matter how many defences you throw up against it.
@@DiamondLil my husband had Covid twice and I didn’t get it. I wonder if i was immune or just lucky. My family thinks I overdo being careful. They get annoyed when I put a mask on around them when they are coughing and sneezing. Very uncomfortable situation.
@@tunneling-nanotubes Hi A, I have no idea how the world of youtube comments works! I agree with you that it is the virus that humbles you when you get it, no matter how hard we try to avoid it.
Did everyone have their mask on in the elevator? Best wishes for a quick recovery for everyone! Another question, a common area like the hallway between your door and the elevator? Movement of virus thru the HVAC system?
Sending well wishes north for a full recovery! 😍 I recently watched "Anatomy of a Pandemic" from PBS News Hour, Dec. 2009. It's as if a much younger Dr. Osterholm (and a much younger Dr. Fauci) was looking into a crystal ball. I had a very eerie feeling watching that documentary. I just don't think the human race is capable of learning this lesson.
I’m so sorry you got Covid. I hope everything is ok. I’m severely disabled with cerebral palsy and I have asthma. My husband is also high risk so we don’t go out in public at all. I can’t keep my mask on so when I do get to do something, it has to be private with them and my husband masked. He always wears a N95 mask when there’s no window between him and the person in drive thrus. He constantly sanitizes his hands. 3 years of this has been hard especially with no end in sight yet. I hope they let us get another bivalent booster soon since we got ours in September. I’m so scared of the dismantling of the tracking system and the end of the PHE in May. Thank you for your continued work and support for us.
I have a question. I have swallowing problems due to my cerebral palsy and I can’t swallow large pills. Heaven forbid we get Covid, what treatments can I get if I can’t swallow the pills? This is really scary to us. Thank you 😊
Unwise Biden ended the emergency early. Even May 11 was too soon. I'm disabled but so far, I have avoided Covid.
@@klarity1111 I totally agree. A lot of things have and are ending too quickly. If it was like the flu now, that’d be different. We’re still having too many deaths every day even though it’s much better than it was. And it’s not even seasonal yet. We just don’t know what this thing is going to do. I’m hoping it will keep getting milder and will stay in the Omicron family so maybe we can get better shots to actually prevent the virus. I’m glad you have avoided Covid so far. Keep it up and keep the faith that there’ll be a breakthrough soon and we won’t have to worry about it anymore.
As Bullwinkle the moose would say, “At humility, I’m the greatest!”
I took paxlovid and had a rebound and was just as sick the second time.That drug sucks.
Thank you, Dr. Osterholm for the past 3 years plus of keeping it real and based on science. As data sources start to go away, I so appreciate your continued podcast. You are an outstanding scientist, epidemiologist, educator, and humanist. Thank you for caring.
D.B. Pharm.D.
I've always wondered how any person with half a brain can claim that Osterholm is "based on science." This man is a charlatan. A quack. A mountebank. He shills for Big Pharma and he will never apologize for it, not even on his deathbed.
@@Lp78Ch - trolls gonna troll. You are so pathetic.
@@Patrick_Ross The eunuch speaks again!? Your job is to wipe Osterholm after he takes a dump.
@@Patrick_Ross "Dr" Lp78Ch is much worse than a troll. He just declared me a lunatic for refusing to disagree with him, "Dr" Mercola, "Dr" Simone Gold, the people with America's Frontline "Doctors" and the Great Barrington Declaration, and the Anti-vax chiropractors on the subject of vaccines, masks, and pretty much everything else Covid related. I cannot begin to tell you how many friendships I have cut off and ended over the last several years with people just like "Dr" Lp78Ch who engage in and spread the anti-vax, anti-mask, and other disinformation stuff concerning this airborne vascular virus and demand that we must accept such stuff as the "TRUTH", and the same goes for those who demanded that I accept "Trump won the 2020 Election!!!" or "Jesus is the Messiah and God in the Flesh" as "THE TRUTH".
Putting two and two together, perhaps one of your guests even though tested might have been in that small interval between getting the virus and having it show up in tests. You can only do so much to protect yourself. I my self traveled from Mexico City to Texas to get a 4th shot, got invited by family members to a bar and got infected the same day I had my jab. In a way all the better, I found out in my case I had a good immune response. I still try to avoid getting infected twice, but there is only so much you can do unless you only stay home. Hope you get well soon!
To reduce the risk of getting COVID and spreading it to others, we actually need to follow multiple mitigation measures. A virologist named Dr. Ian Mackay put together a chart that lists 10 or so strategies to reduce the spread of Covid designed like slices of Swiss cheese, each mitigation measure alone has "holes" and cannot do the job by itself. As we know, the current vaccines only reduce the number of people who land in the hospital or die right away if they get infected, and the at home rapid tests are often not accurate (particularly with the current Omicron subvariants and most especially if one has an asymptomatic form of the virus).
Wearing high quality masks like KN95 and N95 in enclosed shared air and crowded settings is just ONE tool we should use, we also need to use other tools like upgrading the ventilation and air quality in our buildings and facilities (MERV13 air filters or better, HEPA air purifiers), installing Far UVC ultraviolet lighting in our facilities that actually help kill or at least significantly reduce the spread of COVID and other viruses in conjunction with the upgraded ventilation; avoiding or at least limiting our time in crowded settings (particularly when such places are poorly ventilated), trying to do our on person social gatherings outdoors whenever possible, and of course quarantining when we have any symptoms which likely signal Covid and/or if we test Positive for the virus.
I sure wish Dr. O would talk about and acknowledge the importance of upgrading ventilation and air quality, etc... in addition to wearing high quality masks.
Love you man!
Perhaps your experience will encourage you to fight for the development and use of more treatment options!
Thank you.
With all due respect to Dr Osterholm, it matters that we determine if the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged from a laboratory. It’s a matter of research integrity when virologists and evolutionary biologists refuse to acknowledge the moderate to high probability (Bayesian) of that hypothesis. Further, after the millions of deaths, it is-as the WHO Director-General-put it-a moral imperative. It is a scientific and moral imperative especially if this virus resulted from gain of function research in a lab. The PRC authorities refused to allow a proper forensic investigation when it was needed at the outset. That in and of itself questions their sincerity in determining the cause-a cause they have declined to investigate probably because they know quite well this virus followed from a lab accident when GOF research was being done at BSL-2 containment.
Get well and you and your friends will get well science has come a long way with along way to go, keep the science!
Dr Osterholm...you are my hero!
Dear Doctor Osterholm: Happy Belated Birthday from me in St. Petersburg, Florida. I hope you recover soon. My birthday is also on March 10th! My husband began feeling sick on March 8. He tested positive on March 9. I started feeling symptoms on March 10 (birthday plans cancelled…) and finally tested positive on March 12. I began taking Paxlovid on March 12 and after 2 doses felt much better with only sniffles and a funny throat. I finished Paxlovid. I tested negative on March 17, five days later, and felt quite good. But then I got the sniffles again and have been testing positive since March 22. It seems that our experiences are quite similar (except that you got to celebrate your birthday before getting sick). I never expected to get covid rebound as I feel myself to be a fit and active 68 year old woman. I wonder how it would have been if I had not taken Paxlovid, but we will never know. My husband at age 70 chose not to take Paxlovid and tested positive for 11 days after he first started having symptoms but finally got his negative test and continues to test negative. I hope you and I will test negative soon. Thank you for all you do and once again Happy
Belated Birthday from another March 10th birthday person!
I WILL NOT SURRENDER!
I'm sorry that you all became ill. One explanation: they're called "N95" masks for a reason-- not N100s. I wish you the best.
I hope you and your wife are okay Doc 🙏
Don't forget, dear Dr Osterholm, that Dr Fauci also had a recurrence of sickness from COVID; he took another course of Paxlovid, and I hope that you will do the same. You have been a BIG beacon of light to many thousands, through your williness to be on national TV news at some of the most difficult times....I'm remembering in particular January of 2022. Thanks for your help, and we will all keep you in our sweetest thoughts.
P S I also contracted COVID after 3 years in the house, with a kind friend bringing me groceries and medicine....please get well soon
The elevator is entirely plausible. Covid is *that* contagious. It doesn’t call a truce temporarily so you can eat or take a selfie
Is it possible for someone to be an asymptomatic carrier and test negative? I’m sorry you’re sick
My mom was asymptomatic and tested +. We know because her friend had symptoms. However, with theses newer Omicron subvariants it took three days for symptomatic Dr. O to test +.
There are many, many ways to transmit the virus but test negative on a home test: to begin with, you can do the test wrong. 2. You are on the cusp of detectability, and in an hour would have tested positive, 3. you are in contact with someone who has no immune capability at all, so they don't have any ability to fight it off at all, and finally, 4. you aren't as asymptomatic as you think. That minor GI problem you thought was too much salsa, or that allergy from the pollen/cat/mold? Yup: COVID.
Best wishes, Dr. Osterholm! Since none of you tested positive until a day or two after symptom onset, I can't help but think that you could have been infected due to one of you being exposed before your dinner, thus showing no symptoms. Isn't that a possibility?
Dr. Osterholm, Sincere hopes your family and yourself get well soon. I have listened to your podcast since about number 50 and appreciate your objective views. You may appreciate that I was skeptical of what you would say given the politics around this and I may not lean your way as an independent vs progressive. However up until a few podcasts ago, I quoted you to my friends. While I have listened to some of your colleagues who have been much more political than you, you have been a fact based person. As a caveat, I will still listen to you although I was quite surprised by you spending a bunch of time arguing about the origin of Covid and your beliefs around it not being from the Lab in Wuhan. Again as most educated folks understand, depending who you listen to, your will hear not facts, but choosing of facts that help their viewpoint. A sad time for all of us that true facts not bias should be what we hear. But with social media and people going down rabbit holes, that we live in such polarized times. As you mentioned in that podcast, you received many nasty emails/threats. THOSE FOLKS ARE WRONG! The ability to logically debate things are at the heart of democracy and threatening you is just wrong and I am sorry you received these. However, I think there are more facts than just yours. I want to know about the origin not to criticize but to learn. As mentioned again in this podcast you have your belief that this has no bearing on the future. So hypothetically if it came from the lab and the US did fund gain of function research, we should be learning about not doing this and not giving that option to anyone. We should address that no monies should go to labs without appropriate direct inspection. As you said many times, can you believe what you heard from China this week. If this is true, why did China not come out sooner. Also what else did China put online?
I will continue to be a listener and again hope for a quick recovery, but I will agree to disagree with you on the theory related to the lab. Anything that comes from a China is a way to protect them from the growing criticism. If you want to continue to cover this then I suggest you have a discussion of Gain of Function, why people wanted to keep this going. Also cover where US monies went when gain of Function research were lifted. (See CIDRAP discussion) www.cidrap.umn.edu/dual-use-research/feds-lift-gain-function-research-pause-offer-guidance.
Again please get well soon and please continue to discuss COVID both in the US and globally as I will use you information to assist me in travel decisions.
You didn’t get it from the elevator. Someone you were around had it probably asymptomatic and were testing negative. Especially if you’re just rapid testing.
I hope you get well soon! Interesting it took so long for you and yours to emit enough antigen for the test to pick it up. I haven't been keeping up as well as I used to but the last I remember hearing is that viral load is highest a few hours before until a day after symptom onset. Maybe that was just PCR? Like maybe there is a ton of RNA but not much protein at first?
I’ve followed and enjoyed your broadcast from the beginning. Thank you. Just a thought, perhaps the recent Cochrane study concerning masks was actually worthy and shouldn’t have been attached as it was.
Uh, WRONG
Perhaps a bit of research is in order …. th-cam.com/video/XZ1n_woWVkQ/w-d-xo.html
Speedy recovery to you Dr. Osterholm. 🙏
Thinking about your situation? Hoping you feel much better soon. Could the ventilation or plumbing in your building be a possibility? Maybe the hallway? Thank you for your wisdom and wonderful podcast!
I don't leave my door without a fit tested n95. Get well soon, Dr.
Thanks- let the Sunlight Beam Osterholm’s trip back to zero Covid.
I benefit from listening to your podcast and wish you a speedy recovery. While I guess you could have contracted Covid from your 27 second elevator ride, it seems improbable. Is it possible that Covid could have spread through your heating system or ductwork? Relatedly, do you know if nearby neighbors contracted Covid at that time? Sorry to play detective and I imagine you have thought of everything by now. Just thought I would take a shot.
I’m sorry you got Covid but testing isn’t 100% accurate and neither are n95s ☹️ The concert you attended sounded really risky too and why didn’t you mask in the elevator?
Certainly rapid tests are not 100%
Sympathies and hope for quick recovery for Dr. Osterholm et al. Any thought to vaccine-induced shedding (exosomes?) for the infections? I understand evidence of the possibility is very limited but also seems to support the hypothesis. However The fact that 3 of you were infected and the next 4 guests were seems to suggest an outside route of infection encountered by the 3 of you. However it may be good to understand the vaccine status of the next 4 guests and reference the Cleveland Clinic study (were the next 4 any less vaccinated?).
Very courageous to share your own journey Dr Osterholm! When China opened up at the end of 2022, the entire country of 1.4 billion people basically went through the Covid wave in two weeks. Many people simply didn't know how they caught it. Many young people even experienced the symptoms. I think this had to do with the country being in a "sterile" environment for too long and did not get low dose exposure or environment exposure (I believe non pathogenic microbes can give us cross immunity). Maybe we should focus more on building our natural immunity with caution, e.g. avoiding potentially high concentration exposure like the elevator and increasing more outdoor human interactions.
There’s the May 11 deadline for getting covid vaccinations. If no decision for the second bivalent is approved before that, then what?
Live life normally. There's nothing to fear at this point.
Politics is replacing medical science. People are in denial now.
Hope you feel better soon!
Get well soon my inspiration
Oh...... I had my 2nd booster at the end of October as did my son. We regularly were N95 masks Obviously the vaccine did not prevent transmission.
By the way the booster was the bivalent form.
Get an x-ray of the Graphene HYDROXIDE spliced into the RNA, under the pineal gland, in your brain & press charges.
Thanks for all your information! Hoping you mend up quickly and feel better soon! TRUST NO DATA OUT OF CHINA!!! SAVE THE HOARY BAMBOO RAT!!!!
And you trust the numbers out of the lying CDC?????
Feel better, doc. My non-vaccinated parents are 75 and 76, and had about 4 days of minor cold symptoms, when they had Covid. I’ve had their vitamin D levels around 80 for three years, as the science shows that that above all else matters. As to how you got infected, viruses transmit through N-95s, but if you still want to believe in N-95s, think about your eyes. You are brave to speak of this, through what must be horrendously painful cognitive dissonance.
Get well!
I do wonder, when people who tried this hard to avoid their inevitable COVID infection, and they finally "fail" and get it.... will they start a new round of zero COVID? Or realize they were maybe overreacting and missed out on so much of their short life trying to avoid it. Was it really worth it after all?
First of all, if someone already had covid there is no more "zero covid". Does that mean just keep getting it over and over? That is certainly likely if one takes zero precautions.
As someone who has not had covid yet, has multiple risk factors for serious illness/long covid, and plan not to ever getting it, I see no reason to discontinue the protocol: avoid crowded venues (not a hardship for me as there are none of interest) and wear a well-fitted N95 (including in empty elevators).
These two practices are not difficult, expensive, or anything worse than mildly annoying in the case of the N95. So it is worth it for me. Obviously this is not the case for everyone. To each their own.
Definitely worth it. Precautions kept me from getting infected until October 2022 when I let down my guard and went on a cruise. Delaying my infection kept me from getting one of the earlier, more deadly variants. I am alive and recovered unlike many friends who are now 6’ under.
Dear Dr Osterholm,
Why can’t you get a Novavax booster?
I hope you recover quickly and completely!
Best to NEVER leave our homes!
Then what's the point in trying...if you got it...we don't have a chance.
We wear masks in elevators btw
we didn’t learn anything. Over 1 million dead in the USA. Duh
AND.... anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of people (around 25 million in the US alone) who have gotten COVID dealing with Long Covid and a wide variety of long term health issues that sometimes have ended up resulting in really serious consequences, not to mention several million Americans becoming debilitated enough to not be able to work or earn a living as a result of getting COVID.
Speak for yourself. LOTS of people learned many things, including how Osterholm and his ilk are big fat liars.
It would be interesting to look at any security camera footage of the elevator to see if someone was coughing and/or sneezing.
We wish all you guys a speedy recovery.
What is this a murder investigation? ffs. Everyone is going to get COVID, multiple times in their lifetime.
You DID hear him say that those 5 respirations in 27 seconds would have had to have been from an amazingly infectious person having been in the elevator, right? And that he knows that is statistically unlikely to be the source of infection for all 3 people? The man is trying to deal with shame that makes no sense. Every person will be infected over time unless they go nowhere and see no one. That's difficult to do over many years.
@@Cathy-xi8cb I did not hear anything that sounded like shame. It is perfectly logical for an individual to ask how they got sick no matter the illness and no matter the precautions. And it is particularly logical for an infectious disease specialist to look carefully and think critically about transmission given that is a HUGE part of the job.
@@JC-justchillin Then you don't know very many MDs. The thing about the union card is a dead giveaway. He isn't saying he is being logical; he is saying that logic didn't protect him and he doesn't deserve to be part of the group. That is emotion, and the emotion is...shame.
@@Cathy-xi8cb Shame is an emotion - but all emotion is not shame. If you have listened to his podcasts throughput the pandemic you will observe that he is obviously NOT ashamed of being emotional. A balanced person understands the necessity of both logic and emotion (and perhaps less definable aspects) when moving through this complex life and also knows there is not so clear a dividing line at times. They might also understand the value of humor (see also "union card").
Was he being unrealistic in thinking he could avoid covid whilst also participating in large events in enclosed spaces? Downplaying the possibility that a small elevator might have held several contagious people right before he got on? Over reliant on his N95s in crowds (they are 95 not 100)? These are questions he surely has asked himself. As an emotional person and a logical scientist.
Wow. Simply amazing. He continues to call the Cochrane review a farce. Yet he is the perfect anecdotal evidence that supports the Cochrane review. I'm laughing my head off. This is some great news. I'm celebrating this Covid case because it proves that "Dr" Osterholm is the author of misinformation. He proves himself a liar. Absolutely love it!!!!!
It proves what you decided it prove. Nothing more.
@@JC-justchillin you're right. So Dr. Osterholm has absolutely no evidence masks work. He's basing all his beliefs on just that. Just personal beliefs without any evidence. You made my point.
There has never been a claim that masks are 100% effective at preventing infection. They are 95% in a ten minute exposure then diminishing as time exposure increases. You fundamentally misunderstand how they work.
@@galvanaut7119 No, _YOU_ fundamentally misunderstood how masks do nothing to prevent infections of any kind.
@@Lp78Ch - you fundamentally misunderstand everything about the Covid pandemic.
You can't hide and masks and jabs don't stop transmission live your life doc your protocol is silly what quality of life do you have
Lookie, lookie, folks …..one of the channel’s resident trolls!😂🤪
ROFL