Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on the federal government to distribute more monoclonal antibody treatments and vowed that schools in the state will remain open amid the surge in the fast-spreading omicron variant of COVID-19.
DeSantis made his comments during a news conference at Broward Health Medical Center Monday morning.
The governor said the Department of Health and Human Services announced Sunday that they'd be sending more treatments, and said the state will likely receive between 30,000 and 40,000 treatments.
The department said last week that supply of the drug is "extremely limited."
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But DeSantis said any treatments Florida receives will likely be quickly used, and said the state plans to open more treatment sites in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and central Florida, but will need more treatments from the federal government, since the state can't get them directly from pharmaceutical companies.
"The federal government has cornered the entire market," DeSantis said. "We do not believe that the federal government should be holding back any more medications, we think we have to offer this, particularly for our elderly population."
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DeSantis also said there's been a crunch on the availability of at-home Covid tests and said the federal government has promised more but he doesn't know when they're coming.
DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo also said the state would soon have new guidance on who should receive a test, indicating that people who are asymptomatic may not need them.
The governor also reiterated that Florida's schools will stay open and won't be closing for remote learning despite the omicron variant.
"It'd be so damaging now to do that," DeSantis said. "Kids need to be in school, they do not need to be doing any crazy mitigation, just let them be kids."
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