The flu is a serious disease. Every year it affects up to 20% of the population, with 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness and up to 650,000 fatalities ⁽¹⁾. This year, in addition to the flu, we are also facing COVID-19, the infectious disease caused by the recently discovered coronavirus ⁽²⁾.

The flu and COVID-19 both cause respiratory disease, and both are spread the same way ⁽³⁾. There are also some important differences between the two viruses. Let’s take a look:

Sources
(1) https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/communicable-diseases/influenza/seasonal-influenza/burden-of-influenza
(2) https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses
(3) https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---3-march-2020
(4) https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/seasonal-influenza/facts/questions-and-answers-seasonal-influenza
(5) https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-(seasonal)
(6) https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/latest-evidence/epidemiology
(7) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6282993/
(8) https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/663694/Greenbook_chapter_19_Influenza_.pdf
(9) https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/latest-evidence/clinical