Superbug Infections, Deaths Significantly Increased During Pandemic: CDC

Health care workers tend to a patient with COVID-19 in Apple Valley, Calif., on Jan. 11, 2021. Ariana Drehsler/AFP/Getty Images

U.S. hospitals saw a surge in superbug infections and deaths during the ​​COVID-19 pandemic—a setback of progress in combating antimicrobial resistance in recent years—according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Superbugs refer to bacteria and fungi that have become resistant to commonly used antibiotics and other medications to treat the infections they cause.