The negative impact of COVID-19 has been long-lasting and far reaching. Good news during the past 18 months has been hard to come by. But a study recently conducted by Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan found that medications prescribed to children dropped significantly during the first eight months of the pandemic. In fact, it was one of the steepest declines in infection-related medicines such as antibiotics seen in recent years.

Not only were children making fewer visits to healthcare facilities, but social distancing, masks and other COVID-19 protocols kept kids healthier, this study suggests. In fact, these measures, along with less physical contact in daycare and school settings resulted in more than a quarter less prescription medications prescribed than usual.

The study stated that, “Antibiotic dispensing to children and teens plunged by nearly 56 [percent] between April and December 2020 compared with the same period in 2019.” Researchers studied national prescription drug dispensing from 92 percent of pharmacies in the U.S. The study noted that between January of 2018 and February of 2020, almost 25.8 million prescriptions were dispensed to children each month. During the first eight months of the pandemic that number dropped by about 27 percent, compared to the same period in 2019.

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