The latest COVID strains circulating in the U.S. belong primarily to the XFG family of variants, which account for roughly two-thirds of all cases as of April 2026. Their symptoms look a lot like what you’ve come to expect from COVID, though the pattern has shifted over time. Fever, chills, and sore throat are now the most common first signs, while the dramatic loss of smell that defined earlier waves is far less prominent.
Most Common Symptoms Right Now
The World Health Organization lists fever, chills, and sore throat as the top three symptoms of current COVID infections. These tend to come on relatively quickly and are often what prompt people to test. Many infections feel, at least initially, like a bad cold or the early stages of the flu.
Beyond those three, a wider range of symptoms appears less consistently:
- Muscle aches or a heavy feeling in the arms and legs
- Severe fatigue
- Runny or stuffy nose, sneezing
- Headache
- Cough that may be persistent and dry
- Chest tightness or chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Hoarse voice
- Sore or watery eyes
- Dizziness
- Difficulty sleeping
Not everyone gets all of these, and mild cases may only involve a scratchy throat and fatigue for a few days. The CDC notes that symptoms can vary depending on vaccination status, with vaccinated individuals generally experiencing a milder and shorter illness.
Gut Symptoms Are Still in the Mix
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and appetite loss all remain possible with current strains. These digestive symptoms can show up alongside respiratory ones or, in some cases, appear on their own before the more recognizable signs like cough and fever kick in. Diarrhea in particular has been a consistent feature across multiple variant waves and can occur at any age, though it’s easy to dismiss as a stomach bug if you’re not thinking about COVID.
Loss of Smell Is Less Common but Not Gone
During the original and Alpha waves of the pandemic, roughly 80% of infected people reported losing their sense of smell. That number has dropped significantly with newer variants, and loss of taste or smell now falls into the “less common” category rather than being a hallmark symptom.
That said, the long-term picture is more complicated. A large study found that even two years after infection, about 80% of people who reported smell changes still had measurable impairment on formal testing, and 23% had severe loss. Perhaps more striking, 66% of previously infected people who didn’t think their smell had changed also showed reduced function when tested. So while you’re less likely to notice a sudden loss of smell with the current strains, subtle olfactory damage may still occur more often than people realize.
How COVID Symptoms Differ From the Flu
The honest answer is that you can’t reliably tell COVID from the flu based on symptoms alone. The CDC is explicit about this: fever, cough, fatigue, sore throat, body aches, and even vomiting and diarrhea overlap between both illnesses. Testing is the only way to confirm which one you have.
There are a few subtle differences worth knowing, though. COVID’s incubation period runs two to five days after exposure (and can stretch to 14 days), while the flu typically shows up within one to four days. COVID also keeps you contagious longer. You can start spreading the virus two to three days before symptoms appear, with peak infectiousness the day before you feel sick. On average, you remain contagious for about eight days after symptoms begin. With the flu, that contagious window is shorter, peaking in the first three days of illness.
Change in or loss of taste and smell, while less common than it used to be, still leans more toward COVID than flu. If that symptom shows up alongside a respiratory illness, it’s a reasonable signal to grab a test.
When Symptoms Turn Serious
Most people with current strains recover at home without complications. But some symptoms signal that the infection is becoming more than a mild illness. Persistent chest pain or pressure, difficulty breathing that worsens over a day or two, confusion or difficulty staying awake, and bluish lips or skin all indicate the body is struggling to get enough oxygen. These warrant urgent medical attention regardless of age or vaccination status.
Older adults, people with chronic conditions like heart disease or diabetes, and those who are immunocompromised remain at higher risk for severe outcomes. In these groups, symptoms that seem mild at first can escalate quickly, particularly around days five through seven of the illness.
What to Expect for Recovery
For most people, the acute phase of a current COVID infection lasts roughly five to ten days. Fever and chills typically resolve first, within the first three or four days. Sore throat and congestion tend to follow, while cough and fatigue can linger for two weeks or longer even in otherwise mild cases. Fatigue in particular is the symptom people most often underestimate. It’s common to feel mostly better but still hit a wall of exhaustion with normal activity for a week or two after other symptoms clear.
A smaller percentage of people go on to develop longer-lasting symptoms, sometimes called long COVID, where fatigue, brain fog, or other issues persist for weeks to months. This remains possible with current variants, though the risk appears lower in people who are up to date on vaccination.