On social media, families say they've hunted for hours for Tamiflu and the first-line antibiotics amoxicillin and Augmentin. They have one viral illness after another. And now there's the secondary effect of ear infections and pneumonia that are prompting amoxicillin shortages." Some viral illness, like influenza, can leave the body more vulnerable to secondary bacterial infections that may need treatment with antibiotics. Most doctor's offices and some pharmacy clinics can do rapid tests to help determine whether your symptoms are coming from a viral illness or a bacterial one.

Source: CNN November 24, 2022 05:27 UTC