ordering process<\/a>\u00a0on Sept. 3.<\/p>\nThe statement indicated the department had received a \u201csurge in the utilization of monoclonal antibody drugs\u201d and\u00a0implemented changes to \u201chelp promote optimal and equitable use of the available supply.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nThe use of the word \u201cequitable\u201d was what disturbed Jackson.<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cThis word suggests to me that they\u2019re [federal government] trying to manipulate distribution of who they think should get this,\u201d Jackson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they will divert doses from under-vaccinated states like Texas and Florida.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
HHS, under the new ordering process, limits immediate orders and will only ship to administration sites with HHSProtect accounts and current utilization reporting. In addition, HHS will review all orders for alignment with utilization, currently estimated at 70 percent of orders. Although the department says that the measures are temporary and it will continue to \u201cmonitor product utilization rates, variant prevalence and overall availability of mAb\u201d to determine when they would return to the \u201coriginal ordering process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson placed an order on Monday and said the site was not \u201cuser friendly\u201d and he worries that health clinics like his will simply \u201cgive up\u201d because of the lengthy process it takes to order the product.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took me almost two hours to navigate the form,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cIt is very complex and I almost gave up.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nJackson said that he hopes this doesn\u2019t deter other physicians from getting the treatments for patients who need them and said that the form was \u201cdata driven.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the form was geared more toward hospitals because of the questions they were asking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re after data, I get that, but the length of the form was complex and I had to inventory my supply room just to answer the questions. They wanted to know how many hospital beds I had.\u00a0 I\u2019m a doctor\u2019s office, not a hospital.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Forty-eight treatments were ordered by Jackson on Monday, and he said that normally Amerisource sends them next day air, but he wonders what if the new form required by the government will slow down the process and delay treatment for his patients.<\/p>\n
\u2018Ahead of the Curve\u2019<\/h2>\n
Jackson gave praise to the Florida governor and said that because of his efforts, it put Florida \u201cahead of the curve.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTexans still don\u2019t know about it (monoclonal antibodies),\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n\u201cIt has not been widely reported; this is a lifesaving treatment.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\u201cToday I estimate that for every 10 patients, nine of them were either positive for COVID or were worried they had the virus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of patients\u2014more than half\u2014has never heard of the monoclonals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, Florida is utilizing the Regeneron monoclonal antibodies treatment. Regeneron\u2019s treatment, called REGN-COV2, is a combination of two types of monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies work by targeting the coronavirus spike protein, blocking the virus from entering your body\u2019s cells, and stopping the infection from spreading, according to the Health and Human Services website.<\/p>\n
Since August, DeSantis has been introducing Regeneron infusion centers for COVID-positive patients to seek treatment. On Tuesday, DeSantis opened up another monoclonal antibodies site he had targeted as a need area. More are scheduled to be opened this week. The governor said as time goes on, the sites will need to be \u201cadjusted as the need for the treatments\u201d increases or subsides.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state of Florida is working to ensure all the monoclonal antibody treatment sites have adequate supply to meet the needs of our communities,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>said Christina Pushaw, DeSantis\u2019s press secretary.<\/p>\n\u201cAt this time, the sites do have sufficient supply, and DOH will continue monitoring this closely.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Regeneron\u2019s Effectiveness<\/h2>\n
In January 2021 under Operation Warp Speed, an agreement between Regeneron and the U.S. government was reached in which 1.25 million additional doses of monoclonal antibodies cocktail were purchased, bringing the total supply to 1.5 million to be delivered by June 30, 2021.<\/p>\n
The treatments, that the federal government pays for and makes free to patients, have been shown to sharply reduce hospitalizations and deaths when given to patients within a 10-day window of experiencing symptoms, via intravenous infusion or injections. That\u2019s the timeframe in which they have been shown to cut rates of hospitalization and death by roughly 70 percent, according to DeSantis, who says he has \u201cheavily researched and read data\u201d on the virus and treatment options.<\/p>\n
Currently, the governor reports that the hospital admission rates have decreased, indicating that vaccinations coupled with the monoclonal treatments have played a part in this reduction.<\/p>\n
\u201cCOVID is not going away,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0DeSantis said at the press conference.<\/p>\n\u201cWe just have to learn how to live with it; we are still dealing with the 1918 flu, so I know this will hang on as well.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nTammy Allen, spokesperson for Regeneron, said she has seen a demand from not only Florida, but other states as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have seen an increase in demand in recent weeks,\u201d she said in a written statement to The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are largely located in the Southeast\u2014Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nAllen did not have the data on how many doses were distributed to each state, but said the product that has been distributed has a \u201cshelf life and expiration date of 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Tuesday\u2019s press conference, the Florida governor promoted the vaccine but said it could take as long as six weeks to provide full protection.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe antibody treatments can be given to patients who are already sick, with a more immediate effect,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>DeSantis said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe federal government has been distributing monoclonal antibody drugs to the states since last winter, but the treatments were underused due to a lack of awareness from physicians, low interest among the public, and the logistics of setting up areas to give them to patients via IV infusion. But DeSantis had different ideas and launched a monoclonal pilot program in Jacksonville. Because of its popularity and success rate, more sites were opened and now the governor and his team are marching closer to 32 site goals.<\/p>\n
___
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