Antibiotic Use | Vermont Department of Health
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Translations for you
Antibiotic Use
Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)
Antibiotic Use
Infection Prevention & Control Resources
Pathogens of Concern in Vermont
Patients and Families
Safe Injection Practices
Antibiotics: What Everyone Should Know
Antibiotics are medicines that fight infections by either killing the bacteria or by making it difficult for the bacteria to grow and multiply.
Antibiotics can save lives and are critical tools for treating certain bacterial infections, but they aren't always the answer when you're sick.
Overusing or misusing antibiotics can cause:
Antimicrobial resistance
– when antibiotics no longer work against bacteria. This can make infections harder to treat.
Side effects that can range from mild (rash, nausea, diarrhea, yeast infections) to more serious like
C. diff
infections
or severe allergic reactions.
Help prevent antibiotic resistance by only taking antibiotics when needed and by following your provider's instructions when taking them.
Antibiotics only treat certain infections caused by bacteria.
Bacteria are germs that cause infections like strep throat and whooping cough.
Antibiotics do not treat infections caused by viruses.
Viruses are germs that cause infections like RSV, flu, COVID-19 and the common cold.
Learn more (CDC)
Important Links
Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance Facts (CDC)
Are Antibiotics Needed for my Child's Runny Nose? (CDC)
Preventing and Treating Ear Infections (CDC)
Clinician Resources for Preventing Antibiotic Overuse in Suspected UTIs
Antibiotic Use for a Safe Dental Visit (CDC)
Chest Cold (Acute Bronchitis) (CDC)
Information for Health Care Professionals
What You Can Do
Your doctor can decide the best treatment when you're sick. An antibiotic may not be the best treatment. Sometimes, the best treatment may be over-the-counter medication, or lots of rest and drinking plenty of fluids. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about ways to feel better.
Respiratory viruses
usually go away on their own in a week or two.
If you are prescribed antibiotics, it’s important to take them exactly as instructed by your doctor. This will fully treat the bacterial infection and lower the risk of developing antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Talk to your provider if you have
side effects
or allergic reactions while taking an antibiotic. Don't share antibiotics with others or save them for later.
What is watchful waiting or delayed antibiotic prescribing?
Watchful waiting
is when a provider wants to wait 2-3 days to see if your symptoms improve on their own before prescribing antibiotics.
Delayed prescribing
is when a provider give you a prescription but asks that you wait 2-3 days before filling it.
These methods give the immune system time to fight off the infection and helps you to know if your illness is from bacteria and or a virus (which antibiotics can't treat). While you wait, ask your provider about at-home treatments or over-the-counter medicines to help you feel better.
Information for Health Care Professionals
Unnecessary or partial antibiotic use can lead to antibiotic-resistant infections and other health issues for patients, like
C. difficile
infections, allergic reactions, and side effects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that at least
30% of antibiotics prescribed
in the outpatient setting are unnecessary, meaning that no antibiotic was needed.
Health care professionals play a vital role in addressing the threat of antibiotic resistance. Learn more about U.S. and Vermont prescribing data and get tips for talking to your patients about the benefits and harms of antibiotics.
Antibiotic Prescribing Data
According to the
2022 CDC Outpatient Antibiotic Prescription Data
, U.S. health care professionals prescribed 236.4 million antibiotic prescriptions—equivalent to 709 antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 people.
Other CDC data highlights from 2022:
Vermont ranks 23 out of 50 U.S. states in antibiotic prescription rates per 1,000 people.
The Northeast antibiotic prescription rate (per 1,000 people) is lower than in the South but higher than in the West and Midwest.
Dermatology, emergency medicine, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, and primary care physicians had the highest antibiotic prescription rates in the U.S.
U.S. adults ages 20 and older had higher prescribing rates compared to people under 20.
Women were more likely to be prescribed antibiotics compared to men in the U.S.
More on measuring outpatient antibiotic prescribing (CDC)
Preventing Antibiotic Overuse in Suspected Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
These resources help guide assessment and next steps for managing adults with asymptomatic urinary tract infections
Asymptomatic Bacteriuria Fact Sheet with clinical resources
When and when not to test for suspected UTIs -  small poster 8.5x11
When and when not to test for suspected UTIs -  large poster 18x24
Tips for Talking with Patients
Deciding whether to prescribe antibiotics can be complex. Physicians must weigh medical information with patient satisfaction and expectations, time constraints, decision fatigue, and uncertain diagnoses inherent in medical decision-making.
You might feel pressure to prescribe antibiotics for viral illnesses that can’t be treated with these medications. To manage patient expectations effectively, it's important to share both the
benefits and risks of antibiotic use
and
alternative strategies for feeling better
when antibiotics are not the solution. Try these approaches:
Explain why antibiotics are not needed.
Share how antibiotics do not work on viral illnesses and the risks of taking antibiotics when they aren’t needed, including antibiotic-resistant infections, allergic reactions,
C.diff
infections, and side effects.
Provide positive treatment recommendations.
Studies have found that patients are more willing to accept that antibiotics are not needed if the message is combined with how to help them feel better with at-home strategies or over-the-counter medicines.
Come up with a backup plan together.
Advise the patient to follow up with you after a certain number of days if their symptoms aren’t better or if symptoms get worse. You may reassess at that time if antibiotics are needed.
Consider delayed antibiotic prescriptions.
When it’s difficult to know whether an illness is viral or bacterial, counsel your patient on waiting for a certain amount of time to see if their illness clears up on its own before filling a prescription for antibiotics.
Get more tips from the American Family Physician Journal
When using delayed prescriptions, make sure to put an expiration date on them so they can only be filled during the watchful waiting period.
Penicillin Allergies
About 10% of U.S. patients report having an allergic reaction to penicillin in their past. However, less than 1% of the population have a true penicillin allergy.
Conduct a history and physical exam to confirm a true penicillin allergy (and when appropriate, skin test and challenge dose) before prescribing broad-spectrum antibiotics to a patient thought to be penicillin allergic.
Learn more about the clinical features of penicillin allergies and how to talk to your patients about it (CDC)
Factsheet for providers: "Is it Really a Penicillin Allergy?" (CDC)
More Resources for Health Care Professionals
Infection Prevention and Control Resources
Education Materials for Patients (CDC)
Healthcare Professional Resources and Trainings (CDC)
Antimicrobial Resistance & Patient Safety Portal (CDC)
Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship (CDC)
Effective communication handout (CDC)
Online Safety Program for Telemedicine: Improving Antibiotic Use (AHRQ)
Topics:
Antibiotic Resistance
October 31, 2025