TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis made a stop at Tampa General Hospital on Thursday as COVID hospitalizations and cases reached recent highs.
The news conference was focused on the monoclonal antibody treatment.
It's a treatment given through an IV that neutralizes the virus and shortens the duration of symptoms for people who test positive for COVID-19, according to Dr. Kami Kim, Division Director of Infectious Diseases & International Medicine at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.
"It makes it much less likely that you're going to get severe disease and it definitely works in keeping people out of the hospital," Kim said.
DeSantis, along with doctors at TGH, said that this treatment is good news for those who contract the virus, especially those with immunocompromising conditions.
“This has a really, really good track record," the governor said.
Tampa General Hospital CEO John Couris spoke on the current conditions at the facility. He said as of 7:30 a.m., there were 136 COVID patients at the hospital, with 54 in ICU and 13 of those ICU patients on ventilators.
Couris added that 85 percent of their current COVID patients are unvaccinated while 15 percent are vaccinated against the virus.
"Our staffing is tight. Our ERs are full," the CEO said, emphasizing however that the hospital is remaining open to all people who need care. The hospital does not plan to pause elective surgeries like several others in the area, for now, but is monitoring the situation, Couris added.
Florida on Thursday reported 20,133 new cases of COVID-19 as the number of people hospitalized reached an all-time record of 12,516 patients. During the same day, DeSantis held a roundtable discussion with several hospital CEOs, including Couris, in light of the recent numbers.
Most officials reported to DeSantis that the trend in hospitalizations has been unvaccinated people in their 50s.
"When you look at our experience right now, it's definitely skewing younger, for sure," Couris said.
President Joe Biden this week asked Republican governors, including DeSantis, to help fight this latest COVID surge with mask mandates or "get out of the way." DeSantis, who has been a vocal critic of lockdowns and mask mandates, fired back.
"Joe Biden suggests that if you don’t do lockdown policies, then you should, quote, get out of the way. Well, let me tell you this, if you’re coming after the rights of parents in Florida, I’m standing in your way. I’m not gonna let you get away with it," DeSantis said, in part. "If you’re trying to lock people down, I am standing in your way and I’m standing for the people of Florida."
