There are many misconceptions circulating about COVID-19 but one of the most troubling is that the novel coronavirus is “just a cold.”
COVID-19 vs. Colds vs. Flu
The common cold, the flu and COVID-19 are all highly contagious viral respiratory infections that are spread from person to person through direct contact or droplet transmission.
Contact transmission includes direct exposure to someone who is sick. This includes shaking hands, hugging or kissing. It can also occur when people touch a contaminated surface and then touch their mouth, nose or eyes.
Those who are sick can also infect others when contaminated droplets from their coughs or sneezes land in a nearby person’s mouth or nose. Droplets can also travel about six feet before settling on a nearby surface where they can persist for hours or, for some viruses, even days.
The flu, on the other hand, is caused by different strains of influenza viruses. Symptoms of the infection come on more suddenly and tend to be more severe than a cold. While colds can lead to a sore throat, cough and runny nose, people with the flu may also develop a fever and experience chills, body aches and fatigue.
In most cases, people with the flu will recover within a couple of weeks. But some people—particularly older people, babies and very young children and those with underlying health issues—are more likely to develop complications such as pneumonia, inflammation of the heart, brain or muscle, sepsis or organ failure. In extreme cases, the flu can be fatal.
COVID-19 is More Deadly
One of the most important differences between the flu and COVID-19: Their mortality rates.
A severe flu season has a death rate of about 0.1 percent, according to a February 2020 editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine.
By comparison, the COVID-19 mortality rate appears to be higher. Just how much higher is still a matter of speculation. On March 3, the World Health Organization reported that about 3.4 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world are fatal. That would mean the novel coronavirus is more than 30 times more lethal than the flu, which claims tens of thousands of lives each year in the United States alone.
Keep in mind, researchers are still learning about the novel coronavirus and variables among countries, such as population demographics and the quality of health care, also influence estimates on its mortality rate. For example, in South Korea—where aggressive testing is taking place—researchers calculate a COVID-19 fatality rate of closer to 0.6 percent.
More People are Vulnerable to COVID-19
Older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions—such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease—are among those at higher risk for potentially deadly complications associated with COVID-19, which include pneumonia, acute cardiac injury, irregular heartbeat, shock and acute kidney injury.
Keeping Things in Perspective
There are some other key facts that shouldn’t be ignored. So far, most people who are infected with COVID-19 get better on their own with supportive care to ease respiratory symptoms.
Only about 16 percent of COVID-19 cases result in severe illness and complications, including pneumonia and trouble breathing. Fewer still, about 5 percent, will develop very serious issues, including respiratory failure, septic shock and organ failure. That means tens of thousands of people around the world have already recovered from the infection—far surpassing the number of confirmed deaths.
How to Protect Yourself
You don’t need to wait for a vaccine or other antiviral treatments to help protect yourself and others from COVID-19. There is a lot you can do to avoid exposure and reduce your riskof infection, including:
- Washing your hands well and often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds each time
- Not touching any part of your face, including your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands
- Avoiding people with suspected or confirmed infections
Many people, particularly those in affected areas, have chosen to wear face masks to protect against COVID-19, triggering critical shortages among medical health professionals in certain parts of the world. Otherwise healthy people trying to protect themselves against COVID-19 should not wear medical masks, according to the CDC.
Masks can be costly, and they are not a foolproof way to prevent infection—especially if they are used incorrectly or people touch their face more often with contaminated hands. Hoarding them or using them unnecessarily could not only give people a false sense of security but also lead to shortages among medical personnel who need them.
If You Think You Might Be Sick
Anyone
who believes they may be infected with COVID-19 or might have been exposed to
the coronavirus should take immediate steps to isolate themselves and avoid
spreading their illness to others.
If you develop any warning signs of infection you should call your health care
provider (HCP) for instructions. Before going to a doctor’s office or emergency
room, be sure to call ahead and inform the medical staff that you may have been
exposed to COVID-19. Your HCP will work with your local public health department
and the CDC to determine if you need to be tested for the coronavirus.
