Resource on COVID-19 and Influenza from Johns Hopkins Medicine
Similarities of COVID-19 and Flu:
- Symptoms
o Both flu and COVID-19 cause fever, cough, body aches, fatigue; sometimes vomiting and diarrhea
o Can be mild or severe, even fatal in rare cases
o Can result in pneumonia
- Transmission
o Both flu and COVID-19 can be spread from person to person through droplets in the air from an infected person coughing, sneezing or talking
o A possible difference: COVID-19 might be spread through the airborne route (see details below under Differences)
o Flu can be spread by an infected person for several days before their symptoms appear, and COVID-19 is believed to be spread in the same manner, but we don’t yet know for sure.
- Treatment
o Neither virus is treatable with antibiotics, which only work on bacterial infections
o Both may be treated by addressing symptoms, such as reducing fever; severe cases may require hospitalization and support such as mechanical ventilation
- Prevention
o Both flu and COVID – 19 may be prevented by frequent, thorough hand washing, coughing into the crook of your elbow, staying home when sick and limiting contact with people who are infected.
Differences:
- Cause
o COVID-19: Caused by one virus, the novel 2019 coronavirus, now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2.
o Flu: Caused by any of several different types and strains of influenza viruses.
- Transmission
o Both flu and COVID-19 can be spread from person to person through droplets in the air from an infected person coughing, sneezing or talking.
o A possible difference: COVID-19 might be spread through the airborne route
o Flu can be spread by an infected person for several days before their symptoms appear, and COVID-19 is believed to be spread in the same manner, but we don’t yet know for sure.
- Antiviral Medications
o COVID-19: Antiviral medications are currently being tested to see if they can address symptoms.
o Flu: Antiviral medications can address symptoms and sometimes shorten the duration of the illness.
- Vaccine
o COVID-19: No vaccine is available at this time, though development of one is in progress.
o Flu: A vaccine is available and effective to prevent some of the most dangerous types or to reduce the severity of the flu.
- Infection Rate
o COVID-19: Approximately 89,198 cases worldwide; 86 cases in the U.S. as of March 2, 2020.
o Flu: Estimated 1 billion cases worldwide; 9.3 million to 45 million cases in the U.S. per year.
- Deaths
o COVID-19: Approximately 3,048 deaths reported worldwide; 2 deaths in the U.S., as of March 2, 2020.
o Flu: 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide; 12,000 to 61,000 deaths in the U.S. per year. Source: Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine
