The overuse of antibiotics during the pandemic may make other types of microbes (bacteria causing diseases) an even bigger threat. Most COVID-19 patients don’t need antibiotics to get better, but some doctors are prescribing them just in case. ICAP’s Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA emphasized the acute vulnerability of older patients to these antibiotic-resistant microbes:

“Superbugs often emanate from the health care system,” says Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University and director of the Global Health Initiative at its Mailman School of Public Health. “Older individuals are vulnerable because they have more contact with the health care system overall. They need to be hospitalized more often.”