Hi and welcome to COVID Quickly, a scientific American podcast series.

This is your fast track update on the COVID pandemic.

We bring you up to speed on the science behind the most urgent questions about the virus

and the disease.

We demystify the research and help you understand what it really means.

I'm Tony Lewis, one of scientific American senior health editors.

Josh is taking the week off.

Today I'm going to talk about the triple-demic of COVID, flu, and RSV.

And I'll also talk about why it's so important to get the new COVID booster shot to make

sure you're fully protected.

If it seems like everyone around you is getting sick lately, it's because they are.

But this time, it's not just COVID making the rounds.

It's also flu and a virus called RSV.

COVID cases have been pretty flat lately at around 38,000 cases a day, although these are

likely a vast undercount because many people are testing at home.

But as we discussed last episode, the new Omicron sub variants could drive a winter surge.

The variants all have mutations that make them better at getting around our immunity from

vaccination or prior infection.

But experts think the vaccines should still provide good protection against severe disease

and death.

So now's a good time to get your booster if you haven't already.

But more on that later.

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