Utah doctors are already starting to see an uptick of respiratory illnesses and are asking people to get vaccinated and take proper precautions so the state can hopefully avoid a “tripledemic.”

The triple threat includes a collision of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which are all on the rise in Utah and hitting at the same time. Doctors Andrew Pavia and Russell Vinik said they expect to see much more in the coming weeks.

“From Boston to Florida and Texas to Cincinnati, children’s hospitals are overwhelmed with 120% capacity,” said Pavia, who serves as chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at University of Utah Health and director of hospital epidemiology at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital.

Pavia said not only is there a concern about people landing in the hospital, but also of people getting sick with all three viruses at the same time, or one right on top of the other.

“Last year, we saw people getting sick with COVID and RSV at the same time, but we haven’t seen anyone get sick with COVID and flu at the same time, so we don’t know how these two viruses will interact with each other,” he said. “If you haven’t gotten your flu vaccine yet, now is the time. If you haven’t gotten your COVID booster, now is the time. Prevention is important.”

Vinik, chief medical operations officer at University of Utah Health, said the number of COVID patients in the hospital right now is relatively stable, but that could change quickly.

“The majority of the patients we’re seeing at the hospitals are still unvaccinated,” he said. “We still see some very critically ill people with respiratory failure who could have prevented it with the vaccine.”

COVID continues to change rapidly, with new variants continuing to pop up. However, both physicians said the current vaccine will still help to prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death.

“There are multiple variants out there and we expect COVID to continue to evolve, but there’s not a new emergence of a brand new flavor of the Greek alphabet right now. What we’re seeing is omicron continuing to refine itself,” he said. “We don’t know what’s on the horizon though. We’re watching all of these new variants going around very carefully.”

The newest omicron variants hitting Utah are BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, which account for approximately 16% of infections.

Both physicians said influenza kills around 50,000 people per year in the United States, and RSV hospitalizes thousands of older people every year. Both illnesses are starting to creep up in hospital emergency rooms and urgent care facilities.

“You start to lose your immunity to RSV as you get older, particularly in your 70s and 80s,” Pavia said. “For most people it’s nothing more than a mild cold, but for others it can cause wheezing and severe secretions that cause trouble breathing and eating.”

Pavia and Vinik said it’s important to keep your hands washed and stay home if you’re sick.

“We have some tools we should take advantage of,” Vinik said. “A well-fitting mask can also protect you as things get more heated. It’s also hard to distinguish which virus you have, so testing is important so you can treat whatever you have early.”

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