On the Brink of the Next Pandemic: COVID-19 and Antibiotic Overuse

Superbugs Unplugged

In March of 2020, the world's attention turned to one public health threat --- COVID-19. As we battled this horrific pandemic, rumors began circulating about the high rates of prescribing “just in case” antibiotics by health providers .

These fears were confirmed in a recent study from The Pew Charitable Trusts that reviewed antibiotic use among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The findings strongly suggest significant overprescribing during the first six months of the pandemic.

Dr. David Hyun, a pediatric infectious diseases doctor and Director of Pew’s Antibiotic Resistance Project joins hosts Matt Wellington and Dr. Lance B. Price on the podcast to talk about the issue of antibiotic overprescription in human medicine. The conversation covers concerns about COVID-19’s impact on antibiotic resistance and renewed antibiotic stewardship efforts in human medicine.