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Here we go again: respiratory virus season. For the first time this year, though, we have vaccines against our big three threats: flu, RSV and COVID. But vaccines in vials do not equal vaccinations in arms. Only 17 percent of Americans got last fall’s COVID vaccine. (Benjamin Rosenberg, Jason Siegel and Katelyn Jetelina, 10/19)

Environmental and socioeconomic conditions in the U.S. South may permit sharp increases in the incidence of serious arbovirus infections, and yellow fever is of particular concern. (Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., and Angelle Desiree LaBeaud, M.D., 10/19)

Jimmy Kimmel propelled weight-loss drugs into our popular consciousness in March, when he quipped at the Oscars: “Everybody looks so great. When I look around this room I can’t help but wonder: Is Ozempic right for me?” (Andrea Felsted and Leticia Miranda, 10/20)

New technology has a history of overwhelming existing systems that try to manage it, and that’s proving to be the case with genetic testing and health care. It’s been only 20 years since the completion of the Human Genome Project opened the door for genetic testing and its promise for more lifesaving screenings and precise, personalized medicine. There are now 175,000 genetic tests on the clinical market, and 10 new tests are introduced every day. (Jason Bush, 10/19)

After my recent column addressing common reasons why Paxlovid continues to be under-prescribed, many readers wrote in with questions about the coronavirus antiviral treatment. This issue of The Checkup is dedicated to answering them. (Leana S. Wen, 10/19)

I graduated from nursing school three years ago, but I feel like I’m in Whoville. I work at Virginia Mason Medical Center, which was recently purchased by CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit hospital chain that operates 140 hospitals in 21 states. Now it feels like no one can hear me or my fellow nurses. (Allison Wortman, 10/13)