TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to tout the state's monoclonal antibody sites while also announcing that Florida has acquired more doses of the COVID-19 treatment.
DeSantis made the announcement in Tampa at the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County.
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The governor said the state has been able to acquire 3,000 doses of the sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment approved by the FDA in May.
Sotrovimab can only be administered via an IV.
DeSantis once again voiced his displeasure with the federal government reducing the number of Regeneron-produced antibody treatments being sent to Florida.
He said the sotrovimab treatments will be able to bridge some of the gaps from the reduction in supplies sent to the state.
The governor said Florida is expected to only receive 17,800 doses of the Regeneron-produced antibody treatments, as opposed to the 30,000 doses that were being sent to the state-run clinics.
He said those 17,800 doses will have to be used at state-run sites and hospitals, which may cause some state-run clinics to close.
"We may have to be making decisions soon about how many of the sites can remain open," DeSantis said. "We're making decisions about how many doses each hospital can get."
DeSantis has made monoclonals a keystone in his fight against the latest COVID-19 surge. If given early enough, a sick person's chances of going to the hospital drop by 75 percent.
Earlier this week, DeSantis appointed Dr. Joseph Ladapo as the new surgeon general of Florida.
Ladapo then issued a new directive Wednesday that said students who are exposed to COVID-19 won't have to quarantine from school if they're not showing symptoms of the virus.
