Florida’s monoclonal antibody treatment sites closed

If you had an appointment to get a monoclonal antibody treatment, your appointment is canceled: Florida has shut down sites that use the antibodies to treat COVID-19 in its early stages, following the FDA’s revised emergency use authorization.

The Biden administration took back emergency use authorization specifically for the monoclonal antibody treatments from Regeneron and Eli Lilly, which the FDA says are not effective against symptoms caused by the widespread omicron variant.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is demanding that the administration rethink its decision.

“Without a shred of clinical data to support this action, Biden has forced trained medical professionals to choose between treating their patients or breaking the law,” DeSantis said in a written statement. “This indefensible edict takes treatment out of the hands of medical professionals and will cost some Americans their lives. There are real-world implications to Biden’s medical authoritarianism – Americans’ access to treatments is now subject to the whims of a failing president.”

“In our field of medicine, when someone comes to you seeking a treatment that could save their life, it is essential to have treatment options to ensure health care providers can make the best decisions for their patients,” Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo wrote in a secondary statement. “The Federal Government has failed to adequately provide the United States with adequate outpatient treatment options for COVID-19. Now, they are scrambling to cover up a failure to deliver on a promise to ‘shut down the virus.’”

As a result of the @US_FDA's abrupt decision to remove the EUAs for two monoclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibody treatment sites will be closed until further notice. Full press release is below. pic.twitter.com/RGeWTPwxCs

— Florida Dept. of Health (@HealthyFla) January 25, 2022

As a result of the decision to revoke antibody treatment in our state, thousands of Floridians now have canceled appointments. They will have been notified via email and should give their health care provider a call.

Dr. Gerald E. Harmon,  president of the American Medical Association, says the FDA is following scientific evidence in limiting the use of these treatments based on their observed effectiveness, or lack thereof, in treating symptoms caused by the omicron variant. Harmon says that it will help ensure patients receive the best available therapy.

Another big question: What is going to happen to all the antibody treatments in storage that can no longer be used? WINK News is working to get that question answered.