Back in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Donald Trump, Republican lawakers and Conservative media relentlessly pushed the drug hydroxychloroquine. And despite their repeated claims about the drug, it turned out to be pretty much useless.
The country now has a great way to combat COVID-19, vaccines that have proven to be incredibly effective. Still, in red states, vaccinations rates are low and COVID cases are high.
Ron DeSantis is dealing with yet another massive COVID surge in Florida. And rather than relentlessly advising people to get inoculated, he is pushing treatment with monoclonal antibodies. And unlike the free vaccine, this treatment costs at least $1200.
The Florida governor announced the availability of the drug in Orlando today. He told reporters, “Early treatment with these monoclonal antibodies, Regeneron and others, have proven to radically reduce the chance that somebody ends up being hospitalized. And at the end of the day, reducing hospital admissions has got to be a top priority.”
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Gov. Ron DeSantis: "Early treatment with these monoclonal antibodies, Regeneron and others, have proven to radically reduce the chance that somebody ends up being hospitalized. And at the end of the day, reducing hospital admissions has got to be a top priority." pic.twitter.com/RfzPfPILPn
— The Hill (@thehill) August 16, 2021
DeSantis also noted, “The protection against severe illness is holding, but it is not bringing on herd immunity. The unvaccinated are still much more likely to be admitted to hospitals.”
It seems quite backwards to wait to catch COVID before seeking treatments. And there are sure to be questions about who will be profiting from this newest treatment.
Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.
