Ron DeSantis pressures Biden admin to let states purchase monoclonal antibody treatments

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., called for the Biden administration to allow his state to obtain more monoclonal antibody treatments as it encounters the omicron variant of COVID-19.

"We're past the point now where we're able to get it directly from any of these companies," DeSantis said during a press conference on Monday.

"The federal government has cornered the entire market. They basically took control of the supply in September."

DeSantis noted that the administration had stopped sending both Regeneron and Eli Lily monoclonal antibody treatments. The department later said it would allow states to order those products from HHS.

The governor's press conference came nearly a week after his surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, sent U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra a letter requesting the federal government restore distribution of monoclonal antibodies treatments to the state.

"The federal government is actively preventing the effective distribution of monoclonal antibody treatments in the U.S.," Ladapo wrote. "The sudden suspension of multiple monoclonal antibody therapy treatments from distribution to Florida removes a health care provider's ability to decide the best treatment options for their patients in this state."

As Ladapo's letter noted, HHS said in September that it would determine state-by-state distribution of certain drugs. An official reportedly said the move would "help maintain equitable distribution, both geographically and temporally, across the country."

Monday's press conference comes as both Florida and New York saw a record jump in COVID-19 cases.

On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 75,900 new cases of COVID-19 in Florida.

That tally raised the 7-day average daily to 42,600, which is twice as high as it was at the peak of this summer’s surge when the delta variant fueled a surge of infections in the state.