COVID-19: Symptoms, Prevention and Risks
What is COVID-19?
COVID-19 is the disease caused by an infection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It was first identified in the city of Wuhan, in China's Hubei province in December 2019. Since then COVID-19 has spread around the world causing unprecedented levels of illness and deaths.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is from the family of viruses called coronaviruses that usually causes respiratory tract infections. There are multiple variants of the virus including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron. More recent variants in the 2024 season have resulted in more upper respiratory symptoms similar to a cold.
Coughing, nose congestion, sore throat and feeling tired commonly occur in mild cases, but a wide range of symptoms may occur. Some people have mild symptoms, while others develop a severe illness that can lead to hospitalization or death.
Some people have also developed long-term symptoms after initial illness often referred to as “long COVID”.
As of June 2024, nearly 1.2 million people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S.
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Symptoms
Symptoms can range from mild to severe. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 include dry cough, fever, and fatigue. Typically symptoms can appear between 2 to14 days after exposure. Symptoms may progressively worsen in some people, going from mild to severe.
If you develop symptoms, you should stay at home to prevent the spread of the disease into the community. Wearing a face mask will help prevent the spread of the disease to others.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms of COVID-19 include:
- fever or chills
- cough
- shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- fatigue / feeling tired
- sore throat
- congestion or runny nose
- muscle or body aches
- headache
- new loss of taste or smell
- nausea or vomiting
- diarrhea
- dizziness
Symptoms can vary based on variants circulating in the community, as well as vaccination and immune status of the person. In some cases, some people with COVID-19 have no symptoms.
Serious COVID-19 symptoms that require immediate emergency care:
- problems with breathing
- continuing pain or pressure in the chest
- new confusion that wasn't there before
- inability to wake or stay awake
- depending on skin tone, lips, nail beds and skin may appear pale, gray, or blue.
If you notice these these warning signs, call 911 (in the US) or call ahead to your local emergency facility. Notify the operator that you are seeking care for someone who has or may have COVID-19.
How do you get COVID-19?
COVID-19 is spread from one person to another when an infected person breathes out small droplets that contain virus and then the next person becomes infected when the virus enters their body by:
- breathing in the infected droplet into their lungs or,
- the droplet lands directly on eyes nose or mouth or,
- a droplet finds its way onto your hands and then you touch your eyes, nose or mouth.
What happens when you get COVID-19?
There are many different outcomes for people who get COVID-19. Most people recover without requiring any hospital treatment. Some patients become ill enough to be hospitalized and a smaller number of patients become very ill and need intensive care. A small percentage of patients have complications that cause death.
If you are not vaccinated or up-to-date on your vaccines, there is a bigger risk that you may get very sick, require hospitalization, intensive care treatment or die.
Some people have conditions which increases their risk of become seriously ill if they get COVID-19.
The conditions include:
- high blood pressure
- diabetes
- heart issues
- lung problems
- obesity
- cancer
- immunosuppressed
- pregnancy
- over the age of 60 years old.
Generally, people at higher risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses are older adults, young children, people with compromised immune systems, people with disabilities, and pregnant people.
Seek medical care right away if you have risk factors for developing severe COVID-19. Treatment may help lower your risk of severe illness and typically needs to be started within 5 days of when your symptoms started.
How do you prevent COVID-19?
The most effective way to protect yourself from COVID-19 is to get the COVID-19 vaccine (names include Comirnaty, Spikevax, Novavax or authorized versions, based on your age), which helps reduce the risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death. The COVID-19 vaccine helps your body develop immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The latest 2024-2024 COVID-19 vaccines have been update to help protect people against the recent circulating Omicron variants JN.1 (Novavax) or KP.2 (Comirnaty, Spikevax).
Although some vaccinated people can still get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, it can still help to keep you out of the hospital due to severe disease.
Everyone should try and prevent the spread of COVID-19, whether you are vaccinated or not. The best way to prevent infection is to avoid exposure to the virus.
- Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water (lather for 20 seconds), OR use an alcohol based (at least 60%) hand sanitizer, when soap is not available. Teach children the correct way to wash their hands
- Wear a face mask in indoor places where there is high risk of COVID-19 transmission to help protect yourself and others.
- Practice social distancing between yourself and others (within 6 feet, or 2 meters).
- Avoid contact with others who are sick or have symptoms of COVID-19.
- Cover coughs and sneezes (sneeze into a tissue or into your elbow). Throw used tissues in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently (for example: doorknobs, handrails, countertops). To remove germs and dirt on surfaces, use household cleaners that contain soap or detergent.
- Take steps to increase clean air, like bringing fresh air in by opening windows when possible, purifying indoor air, or gathering outdoors. Virus particles do not build up outdoors as much as they do indoors.
What to do if you have COVID-19?
Contact your healthcare provider
If you have tested positive for COVID-19, or think you may have COVID-19, contact your doctor to determine if you need a medical appointment, COVID-19 treatment or both.
Don't delay contacting a medical provider if you are at higher risk, even if your symptoms are mild. Treatment may help lower your risk of severe illness, but it needs to be started within 5 to 7 days of when your symptoms began to be effective.
- If visiting your healthcare provider make sure you call first and tell them you may have COVID-19, so they can prepare for your arrival by wearing the correct personal protective equipment.
- Have regular contact with your healthcare professional, as directed.
If you don’t have a healthcare provider, contact your local pharmacy, community health center or health department.
Get tested
Getting tested will help you to determine your next steps, like treatment or taking steps to prevent spreading COVID-19 to others,
- If you have COVID-19 symptoms, or think you have COVID, you should self-test at home or get tested at a medical facility as soon as possible.
- If you need to wait for your test results, you should self isolate by staying at home and keeping away from others in the same household.
At the end of September 2024, all U.S. households will be eligible to order 4 free COVID-19 tests at COVIDTests.gov. The COVID-19 tests will detect current COVID-19 variants and can be used through the end of the year.
Stay at home
- A large proportion of people with COVID-19 have mild symptoms and can stay at home without the need for medical attention. But you should contact your physician to determine if you need treatment.
- Get rest, eat a well balanced diet and stay hydrated. You can take acetaminophen for headaches, pain or fever.
Monitor your symptoms
- Keep a check on your symptoms and if they get worse contact your healthcare provider right away
- If you have any serious COVID-19 symptoms you should seek emergency medical care or call 911 immediately. Serious COVID-19 symptoms include problems with breathing, continuous pain or pressure in the chest, confusion that they didn’t have before, unable to wake or stay awake, change in skin color that is pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds.
Stay in a specific room and away from other people
- To try and stop the spread of COVID-19 to other people in your household you should try to stay in one room, away from other people if this is possible.
- Follow CDC and local recommendations for masking and isolation.
- If you are around other people you should wear a mask, although children under 2 should not wear a mask.
Cover your cough and sneezes
- If you need to cough or sneeze you should use a tissue which should be discarded into a lined trash can.
- You should wash your hands immediately afterwards.
Avoid sharing
- To protect other people from COVID-19 You should not share dishes, cups, drinking glasses, cutlery, towels or bedding with other people in your house.
- All dishes you use should be washed thoroughly with soap and water or cleaned in a dishwasher. Bedding and towels should be washed and dried regularly.
Wash your hands often
- Washing your hands regularly and thoroughly will help prevent COVID-19 spreading.
- It is especially important to wash your hands after coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose after using the bathroom and before eating or preparing food.
- If you are unable to wash your hands you should use a hand sanitizer instead.
Clean all surfaces
- It is important to clean and disinfect surfaces in the house that are touched often, e.g. door knobs, countertops, handrails, bathroom fixtures, counters, faucets, tabletops, phones, remote controls, and bedside tables.
COVID-19: Treatments and Vaccines 2024-2025
Learn more: COVID-19: Prevention, Treatment and 2024-2025 Vaccines
When can I get back to my normal routine?
You can go back to your normal activities when, for at least 24 hours your symptoms are getting better overall AND you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).
When you go back to your normal activities, take added precaution over the next 5 days, such as:
- taking additional steps for cleaner air
- practicing good hygiene
- masking
- physical distancing yourself from others
- testing when you will be around other people indoors, especially people who are at high risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses (like the elderly, immunocompromised, people who are pregnant or those with chronic illness like heart or lung disease).
Bottom line:
- Covid-19 is the illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In many people, symptoms, like cough, body ache, sore throat and fever, are mild. But in some people it can be more serious or even deadly, including older people, pregnant people and those who have weak immune systems.
- The best way to reduce the risk of COVID-19 causing severe illness, hospitalization or death is to have a complete course of COVID-19 vaccine and regular updates as directed by the CDC.
- Some people, especially those that are high risk, may be candidates for at-home treatments like Paxlovid. You should start taking Paxlovid as soon as possible after diagnosis and within the first 5 days that you have had symptoms.
- If you have not had the COVID-19 vaccine you should try to avoid exposure to the virus by avoiding areas where there is high risk of transmission, practice social distancing, wearing a mask and regularly washing or sanitizing your hands. Use extra caution when the virus is circulating in your community.
This is not all the information you need to know about COVID-19 and does not take the place of your doctor’s directions. Discuss this information and any questions you have with your doctor or other health care provider.
Sources
- About COVID-19. June 13, 2024. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Accessed Sept 10, 2024 at https://www.cdc.gov/covid/about/index.html
- IDSA Guidelines on the Treatment and Management of Patients with COVID- 8/12/2024. Infectious Diseases Society of America (ISDA). Accessed Sept 13, 2024 at https://www.idsociety.org/practice-guideline/covid-19-guideline-treatment-and-management/
- Risk Factors for Severe Illness from Respiratory Viruses. March 1, 2024. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Accessed Sept 13, 2024 at https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/hygiene.html
Further information
Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.