'Just in case' antibiotics widely overused during COVID-19, says UN health agency

Antibiotics saw "extensive overuse" globally among hospitalised COVID-19 patients during the pandemic without improving clinical outcomes, while also potentially increasing the already serious and growing threat of antimicrobial resistance from "superbugs", the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

In an alert, WHO noted that although just eight per cent of hospitalised coronavirus patients also had bacterial infections which can be treated with antibiotics, a staggering three in four were given them on a "just in case" basis.