COVID-19 and the flu are both infectious diseases of the airways and they cause similar symptoms: coughing, sneezing, runny nose, fever, headache and aching limbs.

They are caused by different pathogens. Flu is caused by influenza viruses and COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

How the illness develops is dependent on many factors such as age, state of health and pre-existing conditions. In the case of COVID-19, the different waves of the pandemic have shown that the risk of serious illness is also dependent on the virus variant.

If you experience the symptoms we have just described, you should stay at home, avoid contact with other people and call a doctor to ask for advice. You can find out whether you have COVID-19 by taking a test.

Further information comparing COVID-19 and flu is available at the Federal Health Ministry’s health website gesund.bund.de.

Information in different languages on the comparison between COVID-19 and flu is available from the World Health Organization (WHO).

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