The University of Minnesota’s Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, has been a go-to source for infectious disease expertise for decades. (Photo by Stuart Isett for Fortune Brainstorm Health)
While Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, has spent the bulk of his career developing public health policy to keep people safe from global health threats like COVID-19, influenza, and Ebola, he’s now elbows-deep in what he calls his most important work yet: telling the truth about vaccine science.
Partnering with iAlumbra Innovations, the foundation established by philanthropist Christy Walton, Osterholm, who directs the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), has launched the Vaccine Integrity Project, an initiative designed to safeguard vaccine use in the United States and keep information about vaccines grounded in the best available science.
Q: What are your main goals for the Vaccine Integrity Project?
MO: First, rapid response communication. We are building a capacity that allows us to push back quickly against vaccine misinformation from any source, particularly from federal officials.
We’re also doing robust reviews of vaccine data—we’ve analyzed more than 17,500 published abstracts so far on RSV, COVID, and flu vaccines—and then making that summary information available to medical organizations that have in the past issued immunization recommendations for their targeted populations. These organizations no longer benefit from similar reviews that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would provide.
Q: What’s behind the sudden rise in vaccine hesitancy?
MO: Well, it’s not that sudden. As early as 2017, we were beginning to see substantial decreases in vaccination rates, spurred by a lot of misinformation. Then that was fast-forwarded by COVID in 2020.
And because vaccine hesitancy is happening in many different populations, each with their own motivations, it’s a real challenge to get everyone onto the same page. And with the federal government sending out flawed information, people are confused. They don’t know who to trust.
Q: Where can people go to find the best evidence-based information on vaccines?
MO: They can come to our website: cidrap.umn.edu. The Bentson Foundation recently made a generous gift that’s allowed us to begin creating the CIDRAP Information Hub, where the public will be able to access reliable, scientifically sound information about vaccines and the latest infectious disease threats.
Q: Is the University supportive of the Vaccine Integrity Project?
MO: We’ve had absolute support, from the president of the University on down. They’ve all said, “Tell the truth about the science.” I’m deeply appreciative of that because this isn’t partisan. It’s about public health. We’re just calling balls and strikes.
The need for information about vaccines that’s grounded in rigorous science is urgent. In many ways, I believe my 50-year career has been minor-league training for what we’re facing right now. But we absolutely cannot back down.