A small sample study was conducted by Arnold Monto, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Carl Philpott, a University of East Anglia ear, nose and throat expert. The study was done to help differentiate between COVID-19 and the flu, at a time when specific anosmia detection tests aren’t available and COVID testing kits come with their own criticism and flaws.

The experts based their study by giving a group of 30 people smell and taste tests. In the focus group, 10 had been diagnosed with COVID-19, 10 had real bad colds and flu and 10 were healthy volunteers.

As seen, the ones with COVID-19 diagnosis were more prone to experiencing a loss of taste. As in the volunteers who had a bout of severe cold, loss of smell and taste was only recorded in 4 out of 10 volunteers. The ones found to be COVID+ said that their senses were more deeply impacted, for a longer time.