A new study by Pew Charitable Trusts has found that more than half of the patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in the first six months of the pandemic were treated with an antibiotic. More than one-third of patients were prescribed multiple antibiotics. But only 29 percent of those admitted with the virus were diagnosed as having a bacterial infection which would need an antibiotic. This antibiotic overuse brings concern about the development of antibiotic resistance. In fairness, early on in the pandemic, there wasn’t much data on the natural course of COVID infections or best treatments. As we learn more about the best treatments for people infected with COVID-19, we should see antibiotic use drop.