As we dive deeper into the winter months and the flu season, it seems Canada is now swimming in the middle of rising currents of the 2nd wave of COVID-19 pandemic. The number of new daily infections is soaring, so is hospitalization and death rates especially among the senior care homes resident. It becomes very imperative to understand the peculiarities of COVID-19 and how its symptoms may overlap with those of flu and how you may protect yourself.
Signs and Symptoms
Flu is a viral respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus while COVID-19 is also a respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, but with symptoms that spread further beyond the respiratory tract. There are so many similarities between the illnesses in terms of the signs and symptoms and so it may be hard to tell a difference when the symptoms appear. The only way to confirm is to get tested. Some of the common signs and symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are the following: fever, dry cough, aches and pain, sore throat, fatigue, headache. Notably, shortness of breath/ difficulty breathing is more common in COVID-19 than with flu, whereas headache, running or stuffy nose is more common with flu than with COVID-19. Some people with COVID-19 may also experience some diarrhea, loss of taste or smell, which are less common with flu.
Transmissibility
Both the flu and COVID-19 are contagious and as such can be spread from one person to another via mucosalivary droplets dispersed during coughing, sneezing or talking. Less commonly, transmission could also occur via touching of a contaminated surface and then touching of the face, nose, mouth or eyes. Both illnesses can be spread by people showing symptoms, as well as by people with little or no symptoms. However, for some reasons, COVID-19 is much more easily transmissible than Flu virus. According to CDC, COVID-19 can sometimes rarely be spread by airborne transmission, ie, through exposure to virus in small droplets and particles that can linger in the air for minutes to hours, especially in an enclosed area with poor circulation.
Complications
Both COVID-19 and flu can result in severe illnesses and complications, such as pneumonia, respiratory failure, secondary bacterial infection especially in older age, people with underlying conditions and pregnant women. However, whereas most people who get flu will recover between few days and 2 weeks, COVID-19 poses the risk of additional complications such as blood clots in vein and arteries of the lungs, heart, legs or brain and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children characterized by fever, rashes, trouble breathing and abdominal pain to mention a few.
Vaccine availability
There are currently vaccines approved to protect people against specific flu virus strains that are predicted to circulate each year. Annual flu vaccine administration is recommended to protect people from getting flu or to prevent complications if they do get it. However, since the COVID-19 is still new, there is no vaccine yet. There are many vaccines that are currently in development and we are all hoping the breakthrough vaccine will come soon. Recently Pfizer announced that the vaccine currently under study is 90% effective based on early data. This is quite hope rising, but here are quick facts about this novel vaccine: it is a mRNA vaccine, i.e. it uses a technology that has never been used before in any vaccine, it will be administered in 2 doses 3 weeks apart, it needs to be stored in ultra-cool conditions as low as -70 degrees celsius (which may be a problem for logistics). Fingers crossed for the outcome of the full study and as other companies race to the finish line of producing an effective vaccine.
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