How is COVID different from the flu?
First of all, how do you tell the influenza virus (the flu) apart from the coronavirus? Well, there are many distinct differences, but the symptoms can be pretty similar.
The first difference is a dangerous one. The problem with COVID is that a lot of times, someone can have delayed reactions (2-14 days after exposure) or even be asymptomatic. That means that you don't have any symptoms at all, which can lead to a person with the coronavirus transmitting the virus to other people without even knowing that they have COVID. The flu can also go undetected, but it is a lot less common.
The second difference is that COVID can be a lot more severe. Someone with the flu could experience fever or chills, a sore throat, or a runny or stuffy nose, while those effects almost always happen with COVID.
Also, when you have COVID, you are likely to lose your sense of taste or smell, and you can sometimes have shortness of breath.
On the other hand, the flu and COVID-19 have some similarities. You can experience muscle or body aches, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and cough with either of the two viruses.
The point is, either of these viruses can be harmful, and get vaccinated for both of these if you can.
By Armaan Dhawan