stacks.cdc.govBe Antibiotics Aware
Also: Be Antibiotics Aware: Smart Use, Best Care · Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work (predecessor)
“Smart Use, Best Care”
CDC's antibiotic stewardship education effort, launched November 2017 during U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week as the successor to the Get Smart campaign (running since about 2003). It tells patients that antibiotics don't treat viruses and coaches clinicians on appropriate prescribing.
- Years
- 2017–now
- Country
- United States
- Topic
- Infectious disease
- Asks people to
- StopTalk to someone
- Strategy
- Simple instruction
- Channel
- Clinical settingPrintSocial (organic)
- Audience
- CliniciansGeneral public
Evidence
NoneUnknown
Sponsor (who paid)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Federal government, funder and creator
Credits (who made it)
Related campaigns
- Antibiotic Guardian 2014–now
- Chief Medical Officer letters to high antibiotic prescribers (England) 2014–2015
- Get Ahead of Sepsis 2017–now
Sources
Research notes
Get Smart predecessor may merit its own record; its start year is cited inconsistently (about 2003). Taxonomy gap: no 'antimicrobial-resistance' topic. Meta Ad Library / Google Ads Transparency Center: search advertiser 'Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)' (Meta page 'CDC'). Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: ICF Next (agency case page: 'Be Antibiotics Aware reached consumers and healthcare professionals through a targeted paid media campaign'). CDC order HHSD2002016F90343 to ICF Macro, 'Communications campaigns for sepsis and antibiotic resistance', July 2016-July 2018 (https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_HHSD2002016F90343_7523_HHSD2002015M88159B_7523). Lead: the clinician arm 'Get Smart for Healthcare' (CDC hospital stewardship, 2010) may belong here as an alternate name or its own record; not fetched. Reuse terms checked 2026-10-23 by an AI research pass for #47; not yet reviewed by a person.
Record cases/cdc-be-antibiotics-aware.json, updated 2026-10-23· Link to this campaign