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Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby
There are some significant differences. With the flu, it's not likely you'll lose your sense of smell or taste. That's not a common symptom of influenza. People who are VERY sick with influenza, still don't typically need to be intubated or ventilated, and their deaths, while unpleasant, are not typically caused by them drowning on their own mucus. With COVID, that is what kills you. The pneumonia that comes as an actual symptom of severe COVID infection.
If you are very sick with the flu, once you've recovered, you're recovered. Recovery might take awhile, depending on how sick you were, but it's over when it's over. Not always the case with COVID. Some people suffer permanent lung and/or heart damage from COVID-19. Some people lost their sense of taste and smell, and almost two years later now - still haven't gotten it back. Imagine eating something and not knowing that it's rotten or rancid, until you're puking your brains out an hour later. Not something I'd ever want to look forward to, having to scrutinize every morsel that goes into my mouth. Imagine not smelling smoke, if you're distracted in the house and the smoke hasn't triggered the alarm yet.
COVID-19 and the flu are similar - if you are NOT very sick from either. If you are very sick from either, they are very distinctly different from each other.
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I can only speak from my own experiences. Having COVID was certainly no fun (the loss of smell and taste was annoying but not a big deal since I had no appetite anyway), and the fever was gone after three or four days. I have severe asthma and coronary artery disease but try to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible, take meds as prescribed, exercise regularly (wife says compulsively) and keep my weight down. The people I've known who were severely impacted by COVID didn't do those things. In all honesty I wasn't too worried. I've beaten worse things before.
Flu is another thing. I've come down with pneumonia from the flu three times in my life, twice leading to hospitalizations, and all AFTER having the flu shot. One time even after that quadruple-strength one you get once you reach 65. Decidedly NOT fun. Again, speaking strictly from my own experience, having COVID was a walk in the park compared to those times.