Health Official Accuses Biden Admin of 'Actively Preventing the Effective Distribution' of Life-Saving COVID Treatment
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has publicly accused the Biden administration of refusing to distribute antibody treatments for COVID-19, even though the omicron variant is surging and Florida still has delta cases.
Last week the Biden administration announced that it would begin reducing shipments of the monoclonal antibody treatments from the companies Regeneron and Eli Lilly. The reason is that the drugs have not been proven to be effective against the new omicron variant, according to WPEC.
Studies did show, however, that a third monoclonal antibody treatment, from the company Glaxosmithkline, does work against omicron and is being supplied by the federal government.
But Ladapo argued in a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra that Florida still needs the other antibody treatments since they still have delta cases.
Roughly 20 percent of the state’s cases are still delta cases, according to the Florida Department of Health, WPEC reported.
Ladapo said that the federal government began a “sudden suspension of multiple monoclonal antibody therapy treatments,” adding that the administration was “actively preventing the effective distribution of monoclonal antibody treatments in the U.S.”
He also pointed out that this sudden suspension removes the health care provider’s ability to “decide the best treatment options for their patients,” the Daily Mail reported.
This suspension comes after the Biden administration announced in September that it would cut shipments of the drugs to seven states, including Florida, because they were using about 70 percent of the nation’s supply, according to WFLA-TV.
Ladapo pointed out that this suspension is hurting states populations.
“This shortsightedness is especially evident given the federal government effectively prohibited states from purchasing these monoclonal antibodies and serving their populations directly,” Ladapo wrote in his letter, according to the Daily Mail.
“We must empower healthcare providers to make decisions that will save the lives of Americans everywhere without the dictates imposed by the federal government,” he wrote, WFLA-TV reported.
Ladapo also criticized Biden for this decision in light of the recent comments the president made about COVID having to be solved on a state level.
On Monday, just before meeting with some of the nation’s governors, Biden said, “There is no federal solution. This gets solved at a state level,” CNBC News reported.
In response, Ladapo added in his letter, “As Surgeon General, I respectfully request that you allow states and healthcare practitioners to provide treatment options that best benefit the communities that they know and serve,” the Daily Mail reported.
Florida is not the only state accusing the Biden administration of stopping antibody treatment distribution though.
Texas Governor Greg Abbot also said that Biden was “hoarding the anti-body therapeutic drugs” in a tweet on Monday.
Biden vows full federal support to help states combat COVID. But he’s not.
Biden is hoarding the anti-body therapeutic drugs & denying states independent access to that medical treatment.
Now, he has stopped providing any of that medicine to Texas. https://t.co/e0D36ulIpJ
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) December 27, 2021
So Florida and other states are left asking the administration to distribute the monoclonal antibody treatments in order to treat their populations.
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