Antibiotic Awareness Week, 2021

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 10310 of November 17, 2021

Antibiotic Awareness Week, 2021

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Antibiotic Awareness Week is an occasion to celebrate
the miracles of science and medicine that improve and
sustain our lives, including innovations in antibiotics
that have transformed the treatment of illness.
Antibiotics save lives, kill bacteria that cause
infections, and make it possible for many modern health
care practices--including cancer treatments or
surgery--to be safely performed. This week is also an
occasion to raise awareness of the dangers of misuse
and overuse of antibiotics, which can lead to
antibiotic resistance.

It is critical to the health of our Nation that
antibiotics be used only as intended. In recent
decades, the misuse of antibiotics has contributed to
infectious germs becoming increasingly resistant to
antibiotic drugs. Every year, more than 3 million
people in the United States are infected--and nearly
50,000 are killed--by an antibiotic-resistant germ or
an infection that can occur after taking antibiotics.
Because most of these cases occur as a result of
improper antibiotic use, it is essential that these
drugs are used appropriately and only when necessary.
During Antibiotic Awareness Week, we reaffirm our
commitment to meet the challenge of antibiotic
resistance and preserve the effectiveness of these
lifesaving treatments.

My Administration is committed to a strong public
health response to antibiotic resistance. We are
pursuing the ambitious goals laid out in the National
Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant
Bacteria, building on evidence-based activities that
slow the spread of antibiotic resistant infections and
striving to scale up tracking of antibiotic use across
the country through systems such as the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare
Safety Network. We know the kinds of interventions that
work to maintain the integrity of antibiotics and
strengthen antibiotic stewardship across industries,
and we are implementing those interventions and
providing resources to analyze data and address
inequities in antibiotic prescribing and use. In
addition, we are examining how disparities in health
care access and quality of care exacerbate antibiotic-
resistant infections.

Every American has a vital role to play in this effort.
Even small changes in how we use antibiotics can help
defend against the threat of antibiotic resistance.
Using the right antibiotic and the correct dosage for
the proper duration at the prescribed time can help
improve how antibiotics are used to prevent and control
infections for all of us. During Antibiotic Awareness
Week, we commit to doing our part to take on the threat
of antibiotic resistance and pursue strategies that
will make all Americans safer and healthier.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 18
through November 24, 2021, as Antibiotic Awareness
Week. I call upon the scientific community, medical
professionals, educators, businesses, industry leaders,
and all Americans to observe this week by promoting the
responsible use of antibiotics and raising awareness of
the dangers inherent to their misuse and overuse.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
seventeenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
sixth.