Sales for the full year are not back to pre-pandemic levels, but have risen during the year.
In 2022, prescription antibiotic sales increased by nine percent compared to 2021. In contrast, sales in 2022 have decreased compared to sales in 2019 from 286 prescriptions per 1,000 population and year before the pandemic to 251 prescriptions per 1,000 population and year.
The Public Health Authority writes that it was expected that sales would increase after the pandemic. According to the authority, a likely explanation is an increased spread of respiratory infections when people returned to previous behaviours.
Sales during last year increased in all age groups compared to 2021. The largest increase was in the age group 0 to 6 years, where the increase was 35.6 percent.