Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state is setting up a mobile response unit and bringing in more monoclonal antibody treatments such as the drug Regeneron to the state.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday from Jacksonville with Department of Health and Emergency Management officials, DeSantis said the mobile unit will be based in Northeast Florida to help supply the treatment to both unvaccinated and vaccinated people who can most benefit from the treatment at the early stages after finding out they have tested positive for COVID-19.
DeSantis said the move was to try and lower the state’s growing number of hospitalizations and rising deaths in the state.
“This if applied early and properly has the ability to reduce the likelihood of being hospitalized 70% in clinical trials,” he said.
DeSantis said the treatment isn’t well known in the community, but warns it needs to be taken advantage of early.
“If you’re high risk, and it progresses, you’ve really missed your opportunity for this to be effective,” he said.
The state had more than 15,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19 through Wednesday, with data reported from 230 of 261 hospitals reporting to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Cases also continue to climb, with another 24,753 tallied on Wednesday, a record high. The state reported 39,695 Florida resident deaths from COVID-19 through its latest weekly report from last Friday.
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