At a press conference in Okaloosa County, Gov. DeSantis announced that starting today patients can receive monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 in Fort Walton Beach.
- These treatments will happen seven days per week at the Northwest Florida Fairgrounds from 9am-5pm.
- They will be free of charge.
- The center can see 300 people each day.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that this costs thousands of dollars,” said DeSantis. “The Federal Government bought all of this out long ago. It doesn’t cost the state or the patient anything.”
According to DeSantis, the is state is using the Regeneron Monoclonal Antibody.
“There were a number of them that had been approved for emergency use last year,” continued DeSantis. “The Regeneron is the only one that has received positive results vis-a-vis the Delta variant. Regeneron is also the only one that’s approved for use as a prophylaxis.”
According to DeSantis, this treatment is authorized to help high risk people that are exposed to someone that has COVID.
“So like in a nursing home, for example, if you have somebody tests positive, you can go in and then treat the people, the residents who may have been in close contact with somebody,” he continued.
DeSantis went on to say that the people that will benefit from this treatment the most are the people at most risk for serious COVID outcomes.
- Elderly
- Immunocompromised
- Morbidly obese
- People that have diabetes
- Kidney problems
“The monoclonal antibodies have been shown to reduce hospitalization by up to 70%,” he continued. “If you never even go to the hospital, you’re going to recover. So it is saving lives and reducing mortality as well.”
DeSantis says that while this treatment has been available for since December and that hospitals all throughout Florida and the health systems have been utilizing it, the problem has been the awareness of it.
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