TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Editor's Note: The video in the player above is from when Florida Surgeon General Anthony Ladapo sent a letter to the federal government regarding monoclonal antibodies.
Fifteen thousand doses of Regeneron have been secured for Floridians to be used in support of new monoclonal antibody sites across the state, according to the governor's office.
The COVID-19 treatment is one Gov. Ron DeSantis has been pushing for during the pandemic. The governor and Florida surgeon general have also pointed their finger at the Biden administration for the lack of supply available.
“But for the federal government’s decision to restrict supply of monoclonal antibody treatments to Florida, my administration would have already opened additional monoclonal antibody treatment sites throughout the state,” a statement from DeSantis reads.
In December 2021, Florida Surgeon General Anthony Ladapo sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, accusing the federal government of interfering with the state's ability to acquire the treatments.
DeSantis says the state will work to "rapidly deploy" the doses it was able to get its hands on in an effort to provide early treatment, while still seeking out additional doses.
The announcement of the secured monoclonal antibody treatments by the governor comes on the heels of Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie confirming the state had anywhere from hundreds of thousands to one million expired COVID-19 test kits in its possession.
“We had between 800,000 and a million test kits – Abbott rapid test kits in our warehouse – that did expire," Guthrie explained. "We tried to give them out prior to that, but there was not a demand for it.”
The state's confirmation came days after Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat who is running to unseat DeSantis, accused the Florida Department of Health of storing a large number of a particular type of COVID-19 tests that were about to expire.
“It’s come to my attention that Governor DeSantis’ Department of Health has a significant number of COVID-19 tests stockpiled that are set to expire imminently," Fried wrote at the time.
Moving forward, DeSantis and Ladapo recently announced that Florida is taking a "seniors first" approach to COVID-19 testing that focuses on a "symptom-based, high-value" system.
“We’ve obtained tests and we're directing them to where the tests are most likely to have a benefit. Which is in communities and environments where high-risk individuals reside," Ladapo said at the time. "This is sensible public health."
According to the state, nearly 1 million at-home COVID tests will be sent out to nursing homes and assisted living facilities across Florida. Each facility will be given a "starter kit" of tests based on the number of residents then will be able to reorder tests through an online portal.