DESANTIS PUSHES TO BUY MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY TREATMENT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called on the federal government to allow states to purchase monoclonal antibody treatments on Monday as his state and the country are slammed with COVID-19 cases.

The governor said during a press conference in Fort Lauderdale that the state is waiting to obtain enough doses to open five to 10 more monoclonal antibody treatment sites. But with the federal government in “control” of the supply, that plan is “all contingent on the federal government sending the doses we need,” he said.

Under the federal government’s “exclusive arrangement,” DeSantis said he does not think Florida is able to purchase its own monoclonal antibodies, although the state has set aside money in case the option becomes available.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) paused the distribution of some monoclonal antibody treatments, including from Regeneron, in recent weeks after preliminary data showed a reduced effectiveness against the omicron variant.

The agency stockpiled doses of sotrovimab, the one antibody treatment that has been shown to work against omicron, but pushed out the remaining 55,000 doses to states just ahead of Christmas. The agency also sent out doses of other antibody treatments as well.

Supplies of sotrovimab are expected to increase this week. DeSantis said there are other variants still circulating, and his administration has the capacity to open more treatment sites if they can get the supplies.