U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week is November 18-24, 2021. This annual observance spotlights the necessary steps everyone can take to improve antibiotic prescribing and use. Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent threats to the public’s health. More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result (See https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/biggest-threats.html).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging healthcare professionals to prescribe antibiotics only when necessary to help fight antibiotic resistance and the spread of superbugs and to protect their patients from antibiotic-related adverse drug events. During Antibiotic Awareness Week and throughout the year, CDC promotes Be Antibiotics Aware, an educational effort to raise awareness about the importance of safe antibiotic prescribing and use.
CDC’s Be Antibiotics Aware educational effort encourages healthcare professionals to:
Only prescribe antibiotics when they are clinically indicated. Antibiotics are only needed to treat certain infections caused by bacteria, not viruses like SARS-CoV-2. You can do harm by prescribing antibiotics when they are not needed.
Follow clinical guidelines on how best to evaluate and treat infections and optimize the use of diagnostic tests for improved treatment of conditions like sepsis.
Always prescribe the right antibiotic, at the right dose, for the right duration, and at the right time.
Be Antibiotics Aware has resources to help healthcare professionals educate patients and families about antibiotic use and risks for potential side effects. Including a What is Watchful Waiting? Prescription Pads and Taking your Antibiotics.
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