Skip to Main Content

Antibiotic Awareness Week

Date: 10/20/22

U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week (USAAW), November 18-24, is an annual observance highlighting the importance of improving antibiotic prescribing and use, also known as antibiotic stewardship. USAAW is a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state-based programs, nonprofit partners and for-profit partners.

During USAAW and throughout the year, CDC promotes Be Antibiotics Aware, an educational effort to raise awareness about the importance of safe antibiotic use. The Be Antibiotics Aware initiative educates the public about when antibiotics are needed, how to take antibiotics appropriately and potential side effects of antibiotics.

Improving the way providers prescribe antibiotics, and the way patients take antibiotics, helps keep patients healthy and ensures that life-saving drugs will be available for future generations. In order to help fight antibiotic resistance and the spread of superbugs, the CDC 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.
  • Optimize the use of diagnostic tests is critical for improving treatment of conditions like sepsis and stopping the spread of infections, including those caused by SARS-CoV-2.
  • Always prescribe the right antibiotic, at the right dose, for the right duration, and at the right time.
  • Use the shortest effective duration of antibiotic therapy is a key antibiotic stewardship strategy in all healthcare settings. The goal is to optimize the treatment of the infection while minimizing the risks of side effects from antibiotics and antibiotic resistance.
  • Tell your patients why they don’t need antibiotics for a viral respiratory infection, what to do to feel better, and when to seek care again if they don’t feel better.
  • Talk to your patients and their families about possible harms from antibiotics, such as allergic reactions, C. difficile and antibiotic-resistant infections.
  • Educate your patients and their families to recognize the signs and symptoms of worsening infection and sepsis, and to know when to seek medical care.
  • If sepsis is suspected, gather patient information and immediately communicate it to hospital health-care professionals. Antibiotics should be started as soon as possible when sepsis is suspected.

To demonstrate support for this initiative, providers are encouraged to download and share CDC Patient Education and Promotional Resources.

To learn more about USAAW, including how to participate, please visit: U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week.