Making Sense with Sam Harris - Subscriber Content

#436 - A Crisis of Trust

5 snips
Oct 3, 2025
Michael Osterholm, a prominent epidemiologist and director of CIDRAP, discusses his book, The Big One, focusing on pandemic preparedness. He highlights key lessons from COVID-19, including major public health failures like lockdowns and vaccine communication missteps. Osterholm emphasizes the risks of future pandemics, especially airborne viruses with high lethality. He advocates for better masks, universal vaccines, and improved public health communication to rebuild trust in institutions and prepare for what he calls 'The Big One'.
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INSIGHT

Airborne Spread Made COVID Harder To Control

  • SARS and MERS showed coronaviruses can kill many, but COVID proved high infectiousness with lower fatality.
  • Airborne aerosol transmission made COVID far harder to control than earlier coronaviruses.
ANECDOTE

Stadium Measles Case Shows Long-Range Aerosols

  • Osterholm recounted a Minneapolis measles outbreak where air currents infected people 490 feet away.
  • The case illustrated how aerosols can travel long distances and infect distant spectators.
ADVICE

Make Masks People Will Wear

  • Invest in comfortable, highly effective respiratory protection that people will actually wear for long periods.
  • Prioritize reusable, sealed respirators and better indoor air quality to reduce aerosol transmission.
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