Osterholm Quotes

"We have a tarmac full of candidate game-changing flu vaccines, but no one has built the runway for any of them to take off."

"Possibly in the hundreds​ [of Boston College students who could become sick in Chipotle norovirus outbreak]. Close proximity does increase likelihood of transmission, so clearly dorm rooms and dormitories could lead to increased transmission."

"So one of the key questions is going to be for any kind of game-changing flu vaccine is how do you overcome [diminish immunity with past virus exposure]? And to the extent that that occurs, when does it jeopardize protection if, for example, you create a vaccine against the … stalk versus the head?"

“The [MERS] outbreak in Seoul was a wakeup call to a lot of people that what has happened on the Arabian Peninsula is not likely to stay there. We are going to see more Seouls happening.”

"Planes are a great respiratory virus mixing bowl. You enhance your risk [of contracting flu] there."

“The likelihood that this virus [MERS-CoV] will move around the world to another health facility is very real."

"This is a day late and a dollar short. . . . Not only have the shots already been fired, but the body is now decayed."

"This will go down in history as one of those hallmark public health efforts."

"To be able to conduct a study like this and find these results when case numbers were plummeting … I think is really a major public health achievement."

"The good news is that this is a report that can move us to the next level. But it will mean little if it does not translate into action."

"Do we need to make these buildings much more airtight and the air be filtered? That in fact could be a possibility."

"I don't understand why they have not prioritized developing a camel vaccine to stop transmission from young camels to humans."

"If MERS shows up in the inner cities of one of the developing world megacities, like Lagos or Kinshasa, we will be in real trouble. We know there will be future outbreaks if MERS isn't stopped in the Middle East, but we are not very close to doing that now."

“The willingness and or the ability to share detailed scientific information about an outbreak is often based on the culture in which that outbreak occurs. . . . But I think that here [in the Middle East] that has become an acute problem."

"What I fear is once we get through Korea people will say 'See, we can control this. Don’t worry.' And they’re going to miss the point that we may not be so lucky next time."

"If there is any disease that’s incredibly humbling, it’s influenza. Every time you think you know it, you are reminded that Mother Nature is in charge."

"Clearly there's at least one — maybe two — super-spreading events going on."

"Obviously it's a very serious situation, but right now it's a hospital-related outbreak. If you've visited these health-care facilities or have contacts in these facilities, this is a concern, but for the vast majority of people, this is not a public health concern."

"A highly infectious case, combined with poor infection control, can easily lead to this kind of cluster. This could happen just as well in New York or Berlin."

"Closing the schools is totally unnecessary. The real focus has to be preventing transmission in health-care settings."