Suffering from a sore throat, cough or just feeling run down? It may feel difficult to determine if your symptoms are stemming from the flu or from COVID-19. Flu and COVID-19 share many characteristics, but there are some key differences between the two. You can monitor your symptoms and protect yourself and others with a few simple guidelines.

COVID-19

• What is it?
  • COVID-19, or coronavirus, presents itself as a mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough and difficulty breathing.
• How can I become infected or acquire it?
  • COVID-19 spreads mostly from person to person through respiratory droplets when a person coughs or sneezes. Typically, people within 6 feet of someone with an illness are at highest risk. Wearing a face mask, social distancing, hand hygiene and cleaning of high-touch surfaces and household items can reduce this route of viral spread.
• How long does it take to develop symptoms?
  • COVID-19 usually takes effect 2-14 days after exposure.

Flu

• What is it?
  • The flu is caused by one of several influenzas viruses that typically result in fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, and fatigue. The flu may also present vomiting and diarrhea, but it is more frequently seen in children than adults.
• How can I catch it?
  • People with flu can spread it to others up to about 6 feet away. Most experts think that flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people cough, sneeze, or talk. These droplets can be easily inhaled through the nose or mouth of people who are nearby. Similar to COVID-19, these droplets may be present on doorknobs, counters, and other surfaces after a person coughs or sneezes. Frequent handwashing and cleaning of surfaces and household items can reduce this route of viral spread.

• How long does it take to develop symptoms?
  • The flu virus has an abrupt onset with symptoms beginning about two days after the virus enters the body.

How to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 and the Flu

• Get your annual flu vaccine; even late in the flu season, it offers the best protection.
• Get your COVID-19 vaccine or booster if you have not already. The CDC states everyone 6 years and older should get 1 updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of whether they’ve received any original COVID-19 vaccines. Children aged 6 months–5 years may need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccine to be up to date, including at least 1 dose of updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, depending on the number of doses they’ve previously received and their age.
• The CDC states you can get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines, such as the flu shot, at the same visit. Experience with other vaccines has shown that the way our bodies develop protection, known as an immune response, after getting vaccinated and possible side effects of vaccines are generally the same when given alone or with other vaccines.
• If you are in public and in an area with high community spread of flu or COVID, wear a face mask
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
• Stay home when you are sick
• Cover your cough or sneeze into a tissue then throw the tissue into the trash
• Wash your hands often with soap and water or alcohol based sanitizer
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects in your home and workplace

Influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses. COVID-19 is caused by infection with a coronavirus first identified in 2019, and flu is caused by infection with influenza viruses. Because some of the symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are similar, it may be hard to tell the difference between them based on symptoms alone, and testing may be needed to help confirm a diagnosis. Flu and COVID-19 share many characteristics, but there are some key differences between the two.

Editor's note - This blog was originally published on March 10, 2020 and has since been updated.