Pew Urges Congress to Address Antibiotic Resistance in Pandemic Preparedness Legislation

Adding PASTEUR Act to PAHPA reauthorization would help safeguard the availability of these medications when most needed

Pew Urges Congress to Address Antibiotic Resistance in Pandemic Preparedness Legislation

The Pew Charitable Trusts recently submitted comments to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce’s requests for information regarding ways to improve U.S. biosecurity and preparedness through the upcoming reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA).

Pew urged the committees to include the bipartisan Pioneering Antimicrobial Subscriptions to End Upsurging Resistance (PASTEUR) Act as part of PAHPA reauthorization. Despite the vital need for antibiotics as part of virtually any pandemic or public health emergency response, the medicines the U.S. relies upon to treat serious infections have remained largely the same for nearly 40 years and are increasingly ineffective against quickly evolving bacteria. The PASTEUR Act supports both antibiotic development and stewardship to help ensure that lifesaving antibiotics are available when Americans need them most.

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

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Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.