Flu and COVID-19 are both respiratory viruses that may differ in their degree of risks, but are transmitted through aerosol droplets, causing infections in the respiratory route either directly by contact or through a contaminated surface.

The major different between flu and COVID-19 is the extent of its severity and how fast it can travel. COVID-19 seems to spread more easily than the flu and causes more serious illnesses in some people, whereas people infected with the flu recover in a few days.

Flu and COVID symptoms may overlap, but there are some ailments that may act as primary differentiators. Symptoms like shortness of breath, loss of sense of smell or taste are common with COVID-19, but not the flu. Similarly, headaches, nausea are less prevalent in COVID-19 patients, but they’re a classic symptom of the flu.

However, due to the virus mutations and emergence of new variants, experts emphasize on the unpredictability of the virus and how COVID symptoms may have changed over the course of time.