How long someone can spread the virus that causes COVID-19 is still under investigation. Infants and people with weakened immune systems can be contagious for even longer. Older children and adults with flu appear to be most contagious during the initial 3-4 days of their illness but many people remain contagious for about 7 days. Most people with flu are contagious for about 1 day before they show symptoms.
If a person has COVID-19, they could be contagious for a longer time than if they had flu. This page compares COVID-19 and flu, given the best available information to date.įor both COVID-19 and flu, it’s possible to spread the virus for at least 1 day before experiencing any symptoms.
While more is learned every day about COVID-19 and the virus that causes it, there are still things, such as post-COVID conditions, that are unknown. People can be infected with both flu and the virus that causes COVID-19 at the same time and have symptoms of both influenza and COVID-19. Testing is needed to tell what the illness is and to confirm a diagnosis. More information about differences between flu and COVID-19 is available in the different sections below.īecause some of the symptoms of flu, COVID-19, and other respiratory illnesses are similar, the difference between them cannot be made based on symptoms alone. COVID-19 can also take longer before people show symptoms and people can be contagious for longer. More information is available about COVID-19 vaccines and how well they work.Ĭompared to flu, COVID-19 can cause more serious illnesses in some people. However, as more people become fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 should slow down. COVID-19 is caused by infection with a coronavirus first identified in 2019, and flu is caused by infection with influenza viruses.ĬOVID-19 seems to spread more easily than flu. Influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses.
What is the difference between Influenza (Flu) and COVID-19?
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