Flu vs. Cold vs. COVID-19

There’s a lot of overlap between symptoms of the flu, colds and COVID-19, even though they are caused by different viruses.

All three can range from mild to severe with symptoms that vary from person-to-person. Symptoms can be different for different age groups too.

The only way to know if you have COVID-19 is to get tested.

SYMPTOM	FLU	COVID-19	COLD
Body aches	Common	Sometimes	Sometimes
Cough	Common	Common	Common
Diarrhea	Sometimes	Uncommon	Rare
Fatigue	Common	Common	Sometimes
Fever	Common	Common	Rare
Headaches	Common	Sometimes	Rare
Loss of taste or smell	Rare	Sometimes	Rare
Shortness of breath	Never	Common	Rare
Sneezing	Uncommon	Rare	Common
Sore throat	Sometimes	Sometimes	Common
Nausea/vomiting (more common in children)	Sometimes	Uncommon	Rare
Runny/stuffy nose	Sometimes	Rare	Common
Itchy/watery eyes	Never	Rare	Never

For a detailed breakdown of the frequency of symptoms, consult COVID-19 signs, symptoms and severity of disease: A clinician guide by Health Canada.