Demand For Antibody Treatment Used By Trump Skyrockets In States Slammed By Delta

Officials in states that are experiencing an explosion in hospitalizations due to the spread of the coronavirus delta variant are now touting monoclonal antibody treatments as the best way to avoid having a serious case of the illness.

And these same states are still sticking to their guns about a ban on vaccine mandates. Good for them! The government shouldn’t be telling a person what they can put in their bodies.

via Washington Examiner:

The treatment was given to former President Donald Trump when he was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October 2020. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who tested positive after getting vaccinated, was also prescribed the treatment earlier this month. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, also touted the treatment’s efficacy, saying on Tuesday the risk of hospitalization or death due to COVID-19 could decrease by 70%-85% .

“This monoclonal treatment is probably one of the best ways to be able to [prevent serious illness], it’s important to do it early, though,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis went on to say last Thursday. “If you wait till you’re very, very ill and in need of hospital admission or intensive care, these antibodies at that point probably have missed their window to really nuke this.”

The state opened 21 sites where people exposed to COVID-19 can receive the monoclonal antibody treatment, a lab-made protein that mimics the body’s immune response to the coronavirus, free of charge. It is given to a patient intravenously within 10 days of testing positive before they become seriously ill and require hospitalization.

DeSantis, a staunch opponent of mask and vaccine mandates, has expanded state-sponsored treatment sites this month as Florida hospitals have been pushed to their limits trying to keep up with waves of COVID-19 patients, the vast majority unvaccinated.

“We’re doing thousands [of antibody treatments] every day. Just think, a lot of those folks … would have needed to be admitted to a hospital had they not had access to that treatment,” DeSantis explained. “It also makes sure that you’re not having admissions that continue to explode, that takes a lot of stress off the hospital.”

“Meanwhile, Gov. Abbott announced Friday the state now has 13 monoclonal antibody treatment sites across the state, which is also dealing with surges in severe cases caused by the delta variant. Of the nearly 7,600 beds in Texas ICUs, nearly 94% of them are occupied. To help hospitals deal with the influx of unvaccinated patients, Abbott directed the state health department to send 8,100 medical personnel to healthcare facilities in Texas, including hospitals and nursing homes,” the report went on to say.

This antibody treatment has been given emergency use authorization by the FDA in order to help prevent folks from coming down with serious cases of COVID, though doctors are still pushing for people to get vaccinated.