Covid dashboard upgraded to include flu and RSV in Washington state

What became widely known as Washington state's Covid dashboard over three pandemic years, has now received an upgrade. The dashboard now includes information on Covid, influenza, and and RSV.

The new dashboard went live Monday, showing data on viral activity, hospitalizations, ER visits, and deaths from each virus. It will be updated weekly through April 2024, covering the peak season for all three viruses.

RELATED: What will Washington's virus season look like in 2023?

As of the publishing of this blog post, viral activity remains low, however, there is an uptick in Covid cases (which began in August). That Covid spike is still much lower than previous spikes during pandemic years.

With Covid added to the seasonal viruses, the word "tripledemic" has been thrown around, implying that three viruses will have spikes around the same time. Such spikes could strain hospital systems.

As KUOW recently reported, state Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah has noted that, “Concerns remain that an increase in cases from all, or one, of these respiratory viruses will lead to challenges in our communities and our health-care system, We want people to take the precautions now because that's going to help our health-care system.”

An updated Covid vaccine is rolling out this month. A flu vaccine is recommended for people six months and older, while an RSV vaccine is recommended for infants and people ages 60 and older.