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Piling on Influenza with COVID-19 continuing

By News Oct 13, 2020 | 4:25 PM

KEARNEY, Neb. – Shellie Berry with the Diabetes Referral Network and Buffalo County Community Health Partners wants the public aware of an impending flu season piling on with the year of COVID-19.

“Flu season is coming upon us as well as COVID so we can have what we call a ‘twindemic’ with COVID and flu. In the beginning when COVID first came out, we didn’t think there was a very high chance of getting influenza and COVID. We believe it was around a two percent chance.

Now we know you can get both at the same time. I think wearing masks will help decrease the transmission of both. I think that’s important to think about.”

To maybe add some clarity to the confusing list of symptoms that have developed COVID-19, Berry lists some differences between that and influenza.

“So with COVID and flu you can have fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, muscle aches, headaches and sometimes vomiting and or diarrhea. For COVID only, you can get the loss of smell or taste, something that doesn’t usually happen with influenza.

The other thing is if you not only have shortness of breath but difficulty breathing, that’s a sign that you need to get to the emergency room.”

Both viruses can be very contagious as Berry explains. Their incubation periods are different which may help you determine just what you’re coming down with.

“As far as symptom onset, COVID can be as short as one day, flu can be up to four days. Contagiousness with flu is usually a day before symptoms start and can go up to seven days after symptoms appear. It’s longer for people that are immunocompromised.

For COVID, you be contagious three days before signs and symptoms occur and up to 10 days after those signs and symptoms occur. If someone tests positive and is asymptomatic, they can be contagious up to 10 days as well.”

As for slowing the spread to influenza on op of COVID-19, Berry says not to worry as sanitizers and masks can still help slow it down.