Flu and viral fever cases surge across India: Can COVID-19 measures lower your risk?

With COVID-19 cases continuing to be an active threat, there's a frivolous uptick we have been seeing in the form of the flu cases, be it India or abroad. While the overall flu season was said to be mild last year, there's been a lot of cases being reported, especially in India and baffling people into thinking whether what they have is the flu, COVID-19, or a seasonal allergy.

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While it's just as crucial to work towards minimizing our risk of COVID-19, preventing viral and flu outbreaks are also important right now to avoid infection severity. But can COVID prevention measures be just the same level of helpful? We discuss.

Both flu and COVID-19 are illnesses caused by contagious viruses. While flu is caused by the influenza virus, COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus.

Now, while flu outbreaks were once severe and caused severity just like COVID-19, the intensity of the illness has now tamed down considerably, and clinically efficacious vaccines are now available. Only milder or routine outbreaks of the flu are now reported, and tend to come up during the current times, with seasonal and climatic changes.

However, even though flu is not as SEVERE or mortality inducing as COVID-19, experts do warn that lax precautions and pre-existing conditions can make influenza risky and severe for some, and hence, proper precaution need to be followed.

COVID-19 continues to dominate infection cases across the world. However, the rising instances of flu and other seasonal viral ailments are also adding to our concerns right now. Many doctors have also stressed that they are observing many cases of dengue, viral illness, flu and swine flu being reported right now. As grave as the situation is, it's important to remember that flu outbreaks are usually reported during these months. i.e. September-October and with the changing weather, other viral illnesses are bound to crop up too.

While the world over was following the strongest COVID measures until last year (which helped prevent and keep intensity of these infections to a bare minimum), waning preventive measures and poor immunity to routine flu infections are contributing to a higher than before flu outbreaks right now.

Apart from the fact that they are caused by viruses, both flu and COVID-19 have certain overlapping symptoms which can make it difficult for a person at this point to differentiate between the symptoms and illness they may have.

Both the illnesses can cause a fever, muscle pain, cough, cold, congestion, headache and fatigue. However, there could be some symptoms which could be different, and act as clues to differentiating between the two illnesses.

-A stuffy nose is less likely to occur with COVID-19

-Loss of smell and taste is more of a typical COVID-19 symptom

-Other symptoms, such as skin rashes, runny eyes, and brain fog are more commonly associated with newer variants of COVID-19.

Although COVID-19 and flu have a different exposure-to-symptom time (flu can set in 2-4 days post exposure, COVID-19 can set in 2-14 days after exposure), there is some evidence to suggest that it can be possible for a person to contract COVID-19 and flu at the same time, since the relative risk factors for both the diseases are similar. Experts have also stressed that if flu outbreaks aren't controlled right now, it could also lead to a twindemic right now. However, contracting both the viruses at the same time is a 'rare' occurrence, experts believe.

Lax measures right now can not just put a person at a heightened risk for COVID-19, but also increase the likelihood for catching the flu right now. Hence, following all precautions and measures are quite important.

Since both the diseases, COVID and the flu are contagious illnesses which spread through respiratory droplets released by an infected person, following good measures can tame down the risks. Following mask mandates, staying home when you are sick, maintaining adequate distance and avoiding contact to limit transmission risk are to be necessarily followed. Apart from this, do remember to:

-Wash hands and disinfect them well frequently

-Not touch your mouth, eyes or the nose and limit pathways for germs to spread easy

-Have and encourage immunity-boosting, nourishing foods that strengthen the body's defences

While on one hand, COVID vaccination has been highly stressed upon, getting annual flu vaccine shots is also something which healthcare providers have been urging on for long and getting one right now, can mitigate multiple risk factors. Remember, a COVID-19 vaccine or immunity cannot protect you from flu, and neither can a flu vaccine protect you from COVID risks. Hence, both vaccines are important.

Flu vaccination, especially among adults can prove to be quite helpful as it can effectively lessen disease burden and intensity of severe illness. The vaccines have been in use for quite long, and undergo regular updates to strengthen the protective odds. Research has also shown that both the flu vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine shots can be taken together, and pose no harm.