Is it the cold? The flu? Or COVID? How to tell sniffles and chills apart this holiday season. - USA TODAY

Although milder than a typical pre-pandemic winter, the colder months haven’t stopped seasonal viruses like the flu from joining SARS-COV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – making it harder for Americans to know what they have when they wake up with the sniffles.

But breakthrough infections of COVID-19 in vaccinated people typically result in mild symptoms that are easy to confuse. .

Many cold, flu and COVID-19 symptoms overlap: fever, runny nose, sore throat, coughing and general fatigue.

Experts say COVID-19 symptoms typically appear two to 14 days after exposure and usually last up to two weeks, but it varies by person.

The only definitive way to know the difference between a cold or a mild breakthrough infection of COVID-19 is by PCR testing, Gandhi said.