Data indicates that approximately of hospitalized COVID-19 patients received antibiotics during the first year of the pandemic. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) and subsequent studies found that only about 8% of these patients actually had bacterial co-infections that warranted such treatment.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, research shows a stark disconnect between the frequency of antibiotic prescriptions and the actual presence of bacterial co-infections. While COVID-19 is a viral disease and inherently untreatable by antibiotics, healthcare systems worldwide saw massive spikes in their use. High Rates of Prescription vs. Low Co-infection Early in Pandemic, Were Antibiotics Prescribed ...
Antibiotics were often prescribed regardless of illness severity, with similar rates seen in both mild/moderate cases and severe/critical cases. While COVID-19 is a viral disease and inherently
As more clinical evidence emerged, the use of early empiric antibiotics fell from 84.4% in early 2020 to 65.2% by mid-2021. Common Antibiotics Used As more clinical evidence emerged, the use of
Antibiotic Prescribing Trends During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic
Nearly 80% received an antibiotic from March to October 2020.