What Is the Order of COVID Symptoms This Fall?

COVID-19 infections are expected to rise again now that fall is here and winter won’t be far behind. New variants like Eris (EG.5) and Omicron BA.2.86 are making the rounds, and many people are wondering if they’ll cause worse illness or different symptoms, and which symptoms they might experience first.

Experts say that COVID symptoms have pretty much stayed the same, though the ones you get and the order in which you get them can vary. Here’s what to expect.

Common COVID Symptoms

According to experts, COVID symptoms have actually been shockingly consistent from variant to variant.

Renuga Vivekanandan, MD, an infectious disease expert and the assistant dean of strategy and accreditation at Creighton University’s School of Medicine, told Verywell that COVID symptoms for this fall do not appear to have changed much from what they were last year and include:

• Fever or chills
• Sore throat
• Body aches
• Headache
• Shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Congestion or runny nose
• New loss of taste or smell
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

What Order Do COVID Symptoms Happen?

Vivekanandan said that the order in which COVID symptoms show up varies from person to person, but common initial symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, and difficulty breathing.

While these symptoms are often the first indicators of infection, Vivekanandan emphasized you may experience any of the symptoms from the above list.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), people who have been exposed to COVID usually start to feel sick within five or six days and may experience symptoms anywhere from one to 14 days.

While it was published back in 2020, a study from researchers at the University of Southern California suggests that the symptoms of COVID usually happen in this order:

1. Fever
2. Cough
3. Sore throat, muscle aches, and or/headache
4. GI symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea (usually in that order)

How Long Will COVID Symptoms Last?

The length of time you’ll have symptoms also varies, registered respiratory therapist Mandy De Vries, MSc, RRT, RRT-NPS, vice president of education for the American Association for Respiratory Care, told Verywell.

“Most people with mild to moderate cases start to feel better within a week or two,” she said. “However, some individuals, especially those with severe symptoms, may experience lingering symptoms for several weeks or even months. These long-lasting symptoms are often referred to as ‘long COVID’ or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC).”

Even if you are symptom-free, you may still be contagious. Bernadette Boden-Albala, DrPh, MPH, the dean of the program in public health at the University of California Irvine, told Verywell that if you have COVID, you can be contagious for anywhere from five to 20 days.

She recommends following the CDC’s guidelines: 5 days of isolation if you have mild to moderate illness, and up to 10 days if you’re severely sick. If you are immunocompromised, you may need to isolate for up to 20 days.

What Symptoms Mean It’s COVID?

You can’t know for sure that you have COVID based on how you feel. These symptoms are common to multiple respiratory infections, so taking a COVID test at the first sign of symptoms is the only way you can tell that you actually have the virus and not something like the flu or RSV that’s also going around in the fall/winter.

Although at-home tests are a great option, Boden-Albala says that testing with a healthcare provider can bring you more certainty because they can “administer a specific test that detects both flu and COVID-19, allowing you to get diagnosed and treated as soon as possible to reduce the risk of severe illness.”

While they may not get as much attention as COVID, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can be serious infections for people with compromised immune systems, babies, and older adults, and colder temperatures could bring about a “tripledemic” where all three are going around at the same time.

The upside? There are safe and effective vaccines for the flu, COVID, and now RSV that can offer protection against these infections. The CDC and FDA recommend flu and COVID shots for everyone aged 6 months and older (you can even get both vaccines on the same day to save time). And new this year, the FDA has approved a vaccine for RSV that pregnant people and older adults can get.

Plus, many of the same steps you learned to take during the pandemic—masking up, avoiding crowds, and keeping your hands clean—can help reduce your risk of getting all three viruses and spreading them to others if you do get sick.

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page.