Norwegians used fewer antibiotics and cold medicines in 2020
There was a marked decline in the use of antibiotics and cold medicines in 2020, new figures from the National Institute of Public Health (FHI) show.
The figures were revealed in the FHI’s “Medicine consumption in Norway 2016-2020” report.
“The sharp decline in the use of antibiotics and cold medicines is probably related to a lower incidence of infection cases during the pandemic,” chief physician Hilchen Sommerschild at the FHI’s department for medicine statistics noted.
From 2019 to 2020, sales of antibiotics were reduced by 7.4%, measured in doses. The proportion of children aged 0–4 who received antibiotics was reduced by almost 40%, the report shows.
The number of people who received at least one prescription for anti-cold medicines was almost halved from 2019 to 2020 – from close to 270,000 to close to 140,000.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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