Difference between influenza and SARS-CoV-2

The New Year is just around the corner, but the country is now in the midst of a new crown raging across the country, plus winter is the high season for flu, and the symptoms of the two diseases are very similar: cough, sore throat, fever, etc.

Can you tell if it is influenza or a new crown based on symptoms alone, without relying on nucleic acids, antigens and other medical tests? And what can be done to prevent it?

SARS-CoV-2, flu

Can you tell the difference by symptoms?

It is difficult. Without relying on nucleic acids, antigens and other medical tests, it is impossible to give a 100% definitive diagnosis based on ordinary human observation alone.

This is because there are very few differences in the signs and symptoms of both neocon and influenza, and the viruses of both are highly contagious and can easily bunch up.

Almost the only difference is that loss of taste and smell rarely occurs in humans after infection with influenza.

In addition, there is a risk that both infections may develop into serious illnesses, or induce other more serious illnesses.

Regardless of which disease you have contracted, it is recommended that you seek medical attention as soon as possible if your symptoms are severe and do not resolve, or if you develop：

❶ High fever that does not go away for more than 3 days.

❷ Chest tightness, chest pain, panic, difficulty breathing, extreme weakness.

❸ Severe headache, babbling, loss of consciousness.

❹ Deterioration of chronic illness or loss of control of indicators.

Be wary of influenza + new coronary overlapping infections

Increase the difficulty of treatment, medical burden

As well as being difficult to distinguish between influenza and neonatal coronary, there can be superimposed infections.

At the World Influenza Congress 2022, CDC experts said that there is a significantly increased risk of overlapping influenza + neonatal infections this winter and spring.

A study in the UK showed that 8.4% of patients had multipathogenic infections through respiratory multipathogen testing in 6965 patients with neo-crown.

Although there is a risk of superimposed infections, there is no need to panic too much; the global New Coronas pandemic is in its third year and many changes have occurred in the virus.

The Omicron variant, which is now rampant, is causing significantly fewer severe cases of pneumonia, and fewer deaths, with the virus largely concentrated in the upper respiratory tract and an increasing proportion of asymptomatic and mild infections.

Photo credit: Vision China

However, it is still important not to let down our guard and to pay attention to the risk of superimposed influenza + neo-coronavirus infection. If neo-coronavirus and influenza are co-pandemic, there may be a large number of cases with similar respiratory symptoms attending the clinic, exacerbating the healthcare burden:

1.Increased difficulty in diagnosis and treatment: Similar respiratory symptoms (e.g. fever, cough, etc.) make it more difficult for healthcare providers to diagnose the disease, which may make it difficult to detect and manage some cases of neo-crown pneumonia in a timely manner, exacerbating the risk of neo-crown virus transmission.

2.Increased burden on hospitals and clinics: In the absence of vaccination, people lacking immune protection are more likely to be hospitalised for serious illnesses related to respiratory infections, which will lead to an elevated demand for hospital beds, ventilators and ICUs, increasing the healthcare burden to some extent.

No need to be anxious if it’s hard to tell the difference

Vaccination for effective prevention of disease transmission

Although it is difficult to distinguish between the two and there is a risk of overlapping infections, it is good to know that there is already a means of prevention that can be taken in advance – vaccination.

Both the new crown vaccine and the flu vaccine can go some way to protecting us from the disease.

While most of us have probably already had the New Crown vaccine, very few of us have had the flu vaccine, so it’s really especially important to get it this winter!

The good news is that the threshold for getting the flu vaccine is low and anyone ≥ 6 months of age can get the flu vaccine every year if there are no contraindications to getting the vaccine. Priority is given to the following groups.

1. medical staff: e.g. clinical staff, public health staff and health and quarantine staff.

2. participants and security staff at large events.

3. vulnerable people and staff in places where people gather: e.g. elderly care institutions, long-term care facilities, orphanages, etc.

4. people in priority places: e.g. teachers and students in childcare institutions, primary and secondary schools, prison guards, etc.

5. Other high-risk groups: e.g. people aged 60 and above, children aged 6 months to 5 years, people with chronic diseases, family members and caregivers of infants under 6 months of age, pregnant women or women who are planning to become pregnant during the influenza season (actual vaccination is subject to institutional requirements).

New Crown Vaccine and Flu Vaccine

Can I get them at the same time?

❶ For people aged ≥ 18 years, inactivated influenza vaccine (including influenza subunit vaccine and influenza virus cleavage vaccine) and New Crown vaccine can be administered simultaneously at different sites.

❷ For people aged 6 months to 17 years, the interval between the two vaccinations should be >14 days.

All other vaccines can be given at the same time as the influenza vaccine. Simultaneous” means that the doctor will administer two or more vaccines in different ways (e.g. injection, oral) to different parts of the body (e.g. arms, thighs) during the vaccination clinic visit.

Do I need to get the flu vaccine every year?

Yes.

On the one hand, the composition of the influenza vaccine is adapted to the strains prevalent each year in order to match the constantly mutating influenza viruses.

On the other hand, evidence from clinical trials suggests that protection from inactivated influenza vaccination lasts for 6 to 8 months .

In addition, pharmacological prophylaxis is not a substitute for vaccination and should only be used as an emergency temporary preventive measure for those at risk.

The Technical Guideline on Influenza Vaccination in China (2022-2023) (later referred to as the Guideline) states that annual influenza vaccination is the most cost-effective measure to prevent influenza[4] and that vaccination is still recommended before the onset of the current influenza season, regardless of whether influenza vaccination was administered in the previous season.

When should I get the flu vaccination?

Influenza cases can occur throughout the year. The period when our influenza viruses are active is generally from October of the current year to May of the following year.

The Guide recommends that to ensure that everyone is protected before the high influenza season, it is best to schedule vaccination as soon as possible after the local vaccine becomes widely available and aim to complete immunisation before the local influenza epidemic season.

However, it takes 2 to 4 weeks after influenza vaccination to develop protective levels of antibodies, so try to get vaccinated whenever possible, taking into account the availability of influenza vaccine and other factors.