A survey of 959 U.S. adults collected from January 8 to February 13, 2026, found that 27.9% of respondents admitted to exaggerating or fabricating symptoms in order to obtain antibiotics from a clinician, as published in JAMA Network Open. Among those who misrepresented symptoms, 76.9% reported successfully obtaining antibiotics at least once. Common motivations included feeling seriously ill (62.2%), believing antibiotics were necessary for recovery (61.8%), and wanting to resume work or other responsibilities sooner …
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