LAKE BUTLER, Fla. – A shipment of 15,000 doses of Regeneron that Florida secured Friday drew criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said he had requested twice as many.
“I had asked for (30,000 doses), so that’s still not what we want, because we want to do more sites for people to be able to get treated,” DeSantis said at a news conference Friday.
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On Monday, DeSantis called on the Biden administration to allow states to directly purchase monoclonal antibody treatments from companies. The governor said Florida was ready to open new monoclonal antibody treatment sites, but was waiting on deliveries from the federal government.
A news release Friday from the governor’s office said DeSantis called on the federal government “to release its stranglehold on the supply of monoclonals” and to send Florida at least 30,000 more doses of Regeneron every week.
“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,” DeSantis said. “Before the Biden Administration seized control of the monoclonal supply after Florida pioneered its widespread use and demonstrated its efficacy, approximately 30,000 doses per week were being administered to Floridians, saving countless lives.”
DeSantis said the 15,000 doses will be “rapidly deployed” and that he would continue to seek additional doses of the treatment for Floridians.