Osterholm Quotes

"We used to talk about vaccine hesitancy where people were reluctant to get vaccines. Today it's much greater than that. It's a hesitancy to adopt any kind of science-based approach."

"There's reason to believe we can find a combination [flu] vaccine that would be much more effective. But I would say we're at least 5 to 8 years off.

"We are extremely vulnerable today to any disruption in international trade in lifesaving medicines and medical devices. Look no further than what happened last fall when a Category 5 hurricane hit Puerto Rico, an island where about 80% of IV (intravenous) bag manufacturing worldwide was concentrated."

"We are much more vulnerable today to a catastrophic influenza pandemic than we were in 1918. That may seem counterintuitive, but today there are about 7.6 billion people on Earth, more than 3 times the population in 1918."

"We have to adjust the practice of medicine to the science of medicine, and the science of medicine right now says get your flu shot as late as possible before the flu season."

"From the time you get the flu shot, every month after that the actual protection is reduced over time."

"While there are some differences, they’re not demonstrably different between a cell culture versus an egg-based, versus which kind of [flu] vaccine you get. I think the key thing is getting vaccinated."

"One more severe influenza pandemic would cost the world many trillions of dollars. So by shortchanging flu vaccine research right now, we are being penny-wise and pound-foolish."

"Last year we spent about $73 million on flu vaccine research. Meanwhile, for the eighth consecutive year, we spent more than $1 billion on HIV research. Now, I fully support that we need research into HIV vaccines, but it gives you some idea of the underfunding of flu vaccine work,."

"Even in 2009, when we had the last flu pandemic with H1N1 — similar to 1918 but not nearly as severe — that vaccine at that time only worked about 60% of the time even in healthy people, and of course it was not readily available for the first eight months of the outbreak, because it takes that long to grow it in chicken eggs."

"If we think the IV bag situation in Puerto Rico was serious, it pales in comparison with what could happen with any kind of hiccup with China."

"Now we are caught up in an economic war in the sense of tariffs. . . . If we were ever in an international incident with China, they would literally have their hands around our necks in terms of critical drugs. They wouldn’t even have to fire a shot."

“We have to find out what it is. Is it wildlife? We're not any farther along in preventing [illnesses] today than we were back [in May and June]."

"By the time cases are detected, the product is long gone. It's very hard to trace back."

"It's really important that we understand that this flu vaccine that we’re using today is largely based on World War II technology."

“Antibiotic resistance is a reality of evolution, and we have dumped a lot of gas on that evolutionary fire with a lot of human and animal use. We have put antibiotic resistance on hyperspeed."

"We fund this thing [public health preparedness] like Minnesota snow. There's a lot in January, but in July it's all melted."

​"Each year, the system [of medical product supply chains] gets leaner and leaner. It doesn't take much of a hiccup anymore to challenge it."

"I was told I'd have the freedom to promote antibiotic stewardship with the tools we have developed at CIDRAP. It's no different than serving on any scientific advisory committee. It's really important to promote the scientific agenda."

"I'm going to concentrate on low- and middle-income countries because it's the area of the fastest growth of antibiotic resistance."