Florida Set To Receive 15,000 Doses Of Regeneron, Says Gov. Ron DeSantis
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that the state of Florida is expecting to receive another 15,000 doses of Regeneron for Florida residents.
Gov. DeSantis said his administration has secured the additional doses of the monoclonal antibody treatment drug used to treat COVID-19 from the federal government, but will only receive half of what was requested.
Earlier this week, DeSantis called on the Biden administration to increase Florida's supply by at least 30,000 doses per week as COVID cases surge in the state.
Monoclonal antibody treatments are typically available to at-risk or immunocompromised patients who recently tested positive for COVID-19 in order to prevent severe illness.
DeSantis claims the feds have a "stranglehold" on the monoclonal supply and says he will continue "to seek additional doses for Floridians" to be "utilized to support new monoclonal antibody sites."
The Florida Division of Emergency Management also sent a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services offering logistical support to receive the additional doses as quickly as possible, including picking them up and driving them to Florida.
Earlier this week, DeSantis said the state will open more monoclonal treatment sites once the state receives it from the federal governor.
Thursday, the governor announced Florida will be providing up to one million at-home rapid COVID tests to nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
However, DeSantis and his administration did come under fire as well for allowing as many as one million unused COVID-19 rapid test kits to expire in a Florida warehouse last month, a top state official said on Thursday. The stockpile sat idle during the fall when cases fell in Florida and demand was low, Florida Department of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said during a news conference.
