SAN DIEGO — County health officials are warning of a “tripledemic” this winter as cases of flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID are expected to rise.

County health workers are hoping to get ahead of the “tripledemic” by putting on free flu shot clinics where people can get a shot without even making an appointment.

“I sure did,” said Kim Heinle of the Bayside Community Center.

Heinle is also helping others get the much-needed protection.

“It’s incredibly important to get flu vaccinations this year especially with the—we know COVID is still very much present here,” Heinle said. “We know that influenza cases are going up. Winter is upon us.”

Doctors are bracing for a severe flu season. They also warn of a combined surge of RSV, influenza and COVID-19 hitting communities all at once.

“Really afraid of that,” patient Tomasa Belediaz said. “That’s why I got my vaccine and I see a lot of cases of the flu right now.”

As of last week, the county reported 2,582 flu cases. It will be offering several more of these free flu clinics across the county to help bring those numbers down.

“We’ve already seen at this point about 25 or 30 come through. We’re certainly hoping to get that up, but we do recognize that every person who comes in and gets their vaccine is another person that’s out protected,” Heinle said.

The county releases its updated numbers for respiratory virus cases every Thursday.