Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH – Quotes
Posted by preparedcitizens on January 1, 2008
A man that I have a tremendous respect for. He has done a great service to us all.
Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH
In 1918, even among the very young and the very old, there was a ten-fold increase in deaths, … There was a 1,000-fold increase in young adults. M. Osterholm
Dr. Osterholm is director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), editor of the CIDRAP Business Source, director of the NIH-supported Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance within CIDRAP, a professor in the School of Public Health, and an adjunct professor in the Medical School, University of Minnesota. He is also a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences. In June 2005 Dr. Osterholm was appointed by Michael Leavitt, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to the newly established National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity.
We must plan for a worst-case scenario. M. Osterholm
From 2001 through early 2005, Dr. Osterholm, in addition to his role at CIDRAP, served as a Special Advisor to then–HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson on issues related to bioterrorism and public health preparedness. He was also appointed to the Secretary’s Advisory Council on Public Health Preparedness. On April 1, 2002, Dr. Osterholm was appointed by Thompson to be his representative on the interim management team to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With the appointment of Dr. Julie Gerberding as director of the CDC on July 3, 2002, Dr. Osterholm was asked by Thompson to assist Dr. Gerberding on his behalf during the transition period. He filled that role through January 2003.
Don’t emphasize what you can buy, emphasize what you can get your hands on. M. Osterholm
If it happens tonight, how do you deal with order? M. Osterholm
Previously, Dr. Osterholm served for 24 years (1975-1999) in various roles at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), the last 15 as state epidemiologist and chief of the Acute Disease Epidemiology Section. While at the MDH, Osterholm and his team were leaders in the area of infectious disease epidemiology. He has led numerous investigations of outbreaks of international importance, including foodborne diseases, the association of tampons and toxic shock syndrome (TSS), the transmission of hepatitis B in healthcare settings, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in healthcare workers. In addition, his team conducted numerous studies regarding infectious diseases in child-care settings, vaccine-preventable diseases (particularly Haemophilus influenzae type b and hepatitis B), Lyme disease, and other emerging infections. They were also among the first to call attention to the changing epidemiology of foodborne diseases.
“It’s the perfect setup. Then you put air travel in and it could be around the world overnight.” M. Osterholm
Dr. Osterholm has been an international leader on the critical concern regarding our preparedness for an influenza pandemic. His recent invited papers in the journals Foreign Affairs, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Nature detail the threat of an influenza pandemic and steps we must take to better prepare for that event. Dr. Osterholm has also been an international leader on the growing concern regarding the use of biological agents as catastrophic weapons targeting civilian populations. In that role, he served as a personal advisor to the late King Hussein of Jordan. Dr. Osterholm provides a comprehensive and pointed review of America’s current state of preparedness for a bioterrorism attack in his New York Times best-selling book, Living Terrors: What America Needs to Know to Survive the Coming Bioterrorist Catastrophe.
We can predict now 12 to 18 months of stress of watching loved ones die, of wondering if you are going to have food on the table the next day. Those are all things that are going to mean that we are going to have to plan — unlike any other crisis that we have had in literally the last 80-some years in this country.” M. Osterholm
The author of more than 300 papers and abstracts, including 20 book chapters, Dr. Osterholm is a frequently invited guest lecturer on the topic of epidemiology of infectious diseases. He serves on the editorial boards of five journals, including Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology and Microbial Drug Resistance: Mechanisms, Epidemiology and Disease, and he is a reviewer for 24 additional journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Science. He is past president of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) and has served on the CDC’s National Center for Infectious Diseases Board of Scientific Counselors from 1992 to 1997. Dr. Osterholm currently serves on the IOM Forum on Emerging Infections. He has served on the IOM Committee on Emerging Microbial Threats to Health in the 21st Century and the IOM Committee on Food Safety, Production to Consumption, and he was a reviewer for the IOM Report on Chemical and Biological Terrorism. As a member of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Dr. Osterholm serves on the Public and Scientific Affairs Board (where he chairs the Public Health Committee), the Task Force on Biological Weapons, and the Task Force on Antibiotic Resistance. He is a frequent consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Defense, and the CDC. He is a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).
“Recent clinical, epidemiological and laboratory evidence suggests that the impact of a pandemic caused by the current H5N1 strain would be similar to that of the 1918-19 pandemic,” M. Osterholm
Dr. Osterholm has received numerous honors for his work, including an honorary doctorate from Luther College; the Pump Handle Award, CSTE; the Charles C. Shepard Science Award, CDC; the Harvey W. Wiley Medal, FDA; the Squibb Award, IDSA; and the Wade Hampton Frost Leadership Award, American Public Health Association. He also has been the recipient of five major research awards from the NIH and the CDC.
“What this research does is it provides us with the evidence that we have to look into the eyes of H5 and realize it . . . has the potential to be a cousin of H1N1. Then that tells us we’re potentially going to be experiencing an F5 and not an F1.” M. Osterholm
“Pandemics of influenza are a lot like hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes, … We’ve learned that the virus actually causes massive infection in humans…[and] turns on one’s immune system in such a way that it alternately attacks the organs in the body.” M. Osterholm
Prepared Citizens 
bryan said
This blitz / propaganda is a joke. A vaccine won’t work most likely.
Viruses mutate quickly, a vaccine will benefit the vaccine makers but
will not be effective beyond a placebo effect. Additionally vaccines
cause disease and cancers that require more money being delivered
over to the merck and bayer thugs further down the line.
The next pandemic is a socio-political creation, foisted upon us
by the very ones who will make the vaccine. Additionally
there are vile and reprehensible political agendas that will be furthered
during such a pandemic.
If I am wrong, then show me a study detailing the flu shots effectiveness
-NOT a link showing antibody creation. This is not a determinant of effectiveness
of any vaccine or flu shot.
For yourself I would strongly urge you to research thoroughly before accepting
any shot aimed at your arm.
You can bolster your immunity more effectively using common sense, excellent
eating practices and taking things such as garlic and oil of oregano.
Very truly,
Bryansail33
preparedcitizens said
Hi Bryan,
What I advocate, truly, is for people to shake off their apathy, inform themselves, and make up their own minds rather than follow anyones agenda or propoganda.
My children never got the measles, polio, they never got diptheria or any of the other horrible childhood illnesses. My daughter got whooping cough because she could not finish the DTP protocal. Neither have I. I have had countless wounds and dog bites and have been very thankful for tetanus vaccine.
Before you strongly advocate against vaccination think of the lives that you yourself may be harming. And if we eliminate all vaccines or scare people into not taking them children will be harmed, people will die. Do you want that on your hands? I do not.
I am not saying that we can’t or shouldn’t make vaccines safer. I am not totally on the side of companies who create these newer vaccines in some very scary and morally reprehensible ways. The older vaccines worked and I don’t appreciate some of these new developments. But this is why I advocate for people to speak up and speak out.
I also believe that some of our best weapons against the spread of these infectious diseases is knowledge and wisdom. We can use non-pharmaceutical means to keep us much safer than we are right now.
I thank you for your comment and for reading my blog. You are good to speak up even if we don’t 100% agree.
BTW, garlic and oil of oregano is on my list. A balanced diet. Plenty of fresh air and exercise and above all, a moderate lifestyle. Deep preparedness includes all aspects of one’s life. As a Christian, my most important focus is on my relationship with God. When I seek wisdom from Him through His word there are amazing nuggets of information that are applicable for us today.
Shake off all apathy.
All the best,
Catherine
My friends know me as Jackie
bryansail33 said
Hi Jackie,
I really appreciate the response. I am profoundly affected that you also witness for God. Indeed through him and
his gifts we can truly boost immunity and stand against disease and deceit in this volatile world. You are a living example of John 7:38 “He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of
living water” Your graceful response is so evident of God’s true nature.
Vaccines are a tremendously complicated issue. I haven’t arrived at a final understanding, but at this point I am
quite skeptical of their efficacy and the zeal with which we are urged to immunize. I believe that in some cases
the vaccines that we are given are very deleterious for health down the road. The adjuncts used to bolster response
are most unnatural and the immune system may not be able to resolve these agents as they continue to stay in tissue.
It is not just one person that has made me skeptical of vaccines, it is CDC data and many sources and from researchers diligent efforts to find the truth.
Whooping cough is an interesting one, I have a co-worker who’s daughter contracted it also, very frightening. Measles outbreaks continue in school children who have been vaccinated. Whooping cough is seen in infants who have
been immunized (the CDC says it may take as long as 16 months for vaccinations to give full immunity) your daughter may have still contracted it even if she had received the complete regimen! We don’t even know for certain that the vaccine itself doesn’t cause a spread of the bacterium.
One issue I have with vaccines is in how they are accredited with wiping out disease when those very same diseases
were declining steeply prior to the vaccine ever being given. The graphing of this is remarkably interesting and should be taken into consideration. http://www.vaccinationnews.com/Scandals/2007/Nov_15_07/Scandal80.htm Pertussis incidence in Countries such as Germany where 10% or less of the population gets vaccinated is not significantly greater than vaccinated countries. Another factor in the ‘spike’ in whooping cough is that we are diagnosing it as pertussis rather than a severe cold more often than previously. Also whooping cough not diagnosed in adults and youth may be causing the spread of the bacterium to infants. So far efficacy of boosters given to adults / teens
is not well established. It is not known even if the booster itself may cause transmission to newborns. When one
looks at the statistics of death rates of infants from whooping cough, it is clear that unless the child is premature or has other health issues death is exceedingly rare. Are the side effects of immunization a greater risk than the disease being treated? This is the question that I will ask of myself and any child that I might
have. If my unvaccinated child gets measles, your vaccinated child will be safe, …right? Really, really complex issue on dozens of different fronts. You are on point with regards to some of the current techniques being quite barbaric. If you decide to get the flu shot at the very least be sure to get the shot without thimerosal as it is available. The amount of thimerosal is so small says the CDC, but a well done study indicates repeated flu shots are implicated in higher incidence of alzheimers (and who knows what else).
Luckily, passionate faith and healthy living are far far more powerful than any vaccine program. God is healing people today, right this very minute in miraculous ways that far outshine pharma solutions. I do not entirely disagree with modern medicine, or say that I won’t give some vaccines to myself or child down the road
but I will continue to investigate and pray for discernment.
Warmly and inspired by your grace,
Bryan
preparedcitizens said
Thank you Bryan. If there is anything good that you see in me or what I write, it is because of God not because of me. I am so very subject to making errors and I try to choose my words very carefully because of this.
The CDC and HHS has started to become more transparent and forthright with their concerns and they admit that there are things to be concerned about as far as these vaccines go. I am thankful that these organizations are trying to turn themselves around. It has been heartening to watch them be more responsive and honest about the public’s concerns.
I balance what is in the older vaccines with what I come in contact every day. I have some broken mercury fillings and I suspect that they aren’t so healthy either. I eat fish and shellfish, the tamale in lobster is toxic if you eat too much too often. We are doing better in cleaning up our environment and being better stewards of Gods gift to us but we have a long way to go.
Alzheimer’s is a scary disease. I wonder about those spray deodorants that we used to use that had aluminum chlorhydrate in them.
So many things are implicated as possibly bad for us and now we are embracing even newer technologies. I actually advised my daughter against Gardasil. the drug is too new and I didn’t want her to be a test subject which is what it seemed to me what was happening. I wonder if we will ever learn to have patience before adopting some of these things into our lives. Sometimes we allow ourselves to become guinea pigs, and at what cost?
About vaccination. If your non-vaccinated child comes in contact with another non-vaccinated child who cannot vaccinate because of a health reason (but truly desires to be vaccinated) then we have potentially done harm to that child. And yet I do not want those who are non-vaccinated to be targets of hatred or isolated because of their refusal to vaccinate. In a pandemic, as merely an example, when fears are running high and there is a breakthrough modern vaccine using new technology, this could happen. Not that there will be a *miracle* vaccine this pandemic, but I can see how pressure to vaccinate could be quite strong. And who knows how that could be used?
Please feel free to post your comments and concerns at any time. As I said, working these things through is very important.
I pray God gives us much wisdom and discernment in the days ahead.
Warmly,
Jackie