While we will continue to monitor news and share information about the COVID-19 issue, we want readers to know that Governor Brian Kemp and the Georgia Department of Public Health have created a Status Report Website that will replace press releases from the Governor’s office and the Department of Public Health. The site will be updated at midnight with the latest information, including a Daily Status Report Page for confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia.
Dr. Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection prevention at Johns Hopkins, notes that Influenza – “the flu” and COVID-19 – the illness caused by the new coronavirus, are both infectious respiratory illnesses. Although the symptoms of COVID-19 and the flu can look similar, the two illnesses are caused by different viruses.
Similarities of COVID-19 and the Flu include:
Symptoms: Both cause fever, cough, body aces, fatigue, and sometimes, vomiting and diarrhea. They can be mild cases, or severe cases, and even fatal in rare cases. And both 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.
Flu can be spread by an infected person for several days before their symptoms appear, and COVID-19 is believed to be spread in the same manner, but we don’t yet know for sure.
Treatment: Neither virus is treatable with antibiotics, which only work on bacterial infections.
Both may be treated by addressing symptoms, such as reducing fever. Severe cases may require hospitalization and support such as mechanical ventilation.
Prevention
Both may be prevented by frequent, thorough hand washing, coughing into the crook of your elbow, staying home when sick and limiting contact with people who are infected.
Differences of COVID-19 and the Flu:
Cause
COVID-19: Caused by one virus, the novel 2019 coronavirus, now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2.
Flu: Caused by any of several different types and strains of influenza viruses.
Transmission: The flu and COVID-19 may be transmitted in similar ways but there is also a possible difference: COVID-19 might be spread through the airborne route, meaning that tiny droplets remaining in the air could cause disease in others even after the ill person is no longer nearby.
Antiviral Medications
COVID-19: Antiviral medications are currently being tested to see if they can address symptoms.
Flu: Antiviral medications can address symptoms and sometimes shorten the duration of the illness.
Vaccines
COVID-19: No vaccine is available at this time, though it is in progress.
Flu: A vaccine is available and effective to prevent some of the most dangerous types or to reduce the severity of the flu.
Infections
COVID-19: Approximately 127,863 cases worldwide; 1,323 cases in the U.S. as of March 12, 2020.
Flu: Estimated 1 billion cases worldwide; 9.3 million to 45 million cases in the U.S. per year.
Deaths
COVID-19: Approximately 4,718 deaths reported worldwide; including 38 deaths in the U.S., as of Mar. 12, 2020.*
Flu: 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide; 12,000 to 61,000 deaths in the U.S. per year.
The COVID-19 situation is changing rapidly. Since this disease is caused by a new virus, people do not have immunity to it, and a vaccine may be many months away. Doctors and scientists are working on estimating the mortality rate of COVID-19, but at present, it is thought to be higher than that of most strains of the flu.
*This information comes from the Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases map developed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
