COVID-19 Or Something Else?

You’re not feeling great, but it can’t be COVID-19… right? Having quick access to the CDC’s list of COVID-19 symptoms, which can be mild to severe, is a big relief, and Hayday offers companies the opportunity to include these within their regular employee Check In experience. Best of all: the CDC information automatically updates as more information about the virus and disease comes to light. This way, employers and their employees can stay on top of the latest information and refer back to it in one convenient location—through the Hayday experience.

Here’s a quick snapshot provided by Johns Hopkins Medicine to illustrate the similarities and differences between COVID-19 and the flu. The full list of CDC symptoms evolves as we learn more about the virus.

Similarities: coronavirus and the flu

  • Both cause fever, cough, body aches, new fatigue and congestion or runny nose; sometimes vomiting and diarrhea. The full list of symptoms of COVID-19 continues to evolve as more is learned about the illness.

  • Can be mild or severe, even fatal in rare cases.

  • Can result in pneumonia.

Transmission

  • Both can be spread from person to person through droplets in the air from an infected person coughing, sneezing or talking.

  • A possible difference: COVID-19 might be spread through the airborne route (see details below under Differences).

  • Both can be spread by an infected person for several days before their symptoms appear.

Treatment

  • Neither virus is treatable with antibiotics, which only work on bacterial infections.

  • Both are treated by addressing symptoms, such as reducing fever. Severe cases may require hospitalization and support such as mechanical ventilation.

Prevention

Limit exposure with frequent, thorough hand washing, coughing into the crook of your elbow, staying home when sick and limiting contact with people who are infected. Physical distancing can limit the spread of COVID-19 in communities.

Read how COVID-19 different than the flu via John Hopkins Medical Center