The new coronavirus and the seasonal flu are similar in many ways. Both are respiratory diseases that spread through droplets of fluid from the mouth and nose of someone who is infected. Both are contagious, produce similar symptoms and can be deadly. While both produce many of the same symptoms—fever, cough and muscle aches—and are particularly hard on the elderly, they come from two different families of viruses. People have more protection from the flu because there is a vaccine and...

Source: Wall Street Journal March 10, 2020 16:41 UTC