While the decline mirrors downward trends seen in prescriptions for adults early in the pandemic, the numbers did not rebound for children to the same degree, the study authors said.

The researchers used the IQVIA National Prescription Audit, which tracks monthly prescriptions from 92% of US retail, mail-order, and long-term care pharmacies, to measure changes in those dispensed to children and teens 0 to 19 years old before and during the pandemic.

Specifically, they compared prescription totals from April to December 2020 with those from April to December 2019 overall, by drug class, and among classes usually used to treat infections (eg, antibiotics) or chronic diseases (eg, antidepressants).