Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called out President Joe Biden’s administration Monday for revoking the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Regeneron’s and Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody treatments. The Food and Drug Administration quietly revoked the EUA leading to all of Florida’s state-run monoclonal treatment sites being shut down.
“Because data show these treatments are highly unlikely to be active against the omicron variant, which is circulating at a very high frequency throughout the United States, these treatments are not authorized for use in any U.S. states, territories, and jurisdictions at this time,” the FDA said in a press release. “In the future, if patients in certain geographic regions are likely to be infected or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to these treatments, then use of these treatments may be authorized in these regions.”
DeSantis blasted Biden and the FDA calling the revocation “sudden and reckless.”
“Without a shred of clinical data to support this action, Biden has forced trained medical professionals to choose between treating their patients or breaking the law,” said DeSantis. “This indefensible edict takes treatment out of the hands of medical professionals and will cost some Americans their lives. There are real-world implications to Biden’s medical authoritarianism – Americans’ access to treatments is now subject to the whims of a failing president.”
The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) announced the cancellation of pre-scheduled monoclonal treatments for approximately 2,000 Floridians.
“As a result of the @US_FDA‘s abrupt decision to remove the EUAs for two monoclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibody treatment sites will be closed until further notice,” the FDOH said.
As a result of the @US_FDA's abrupt decision to remove the EUAs for two monoclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibody treatment sites will be closed until further notice. Full press release is below. pic.twitter.com/RGeWTPwxCs
— Florida Dept. of Health (@HealthyFla) January 25, 2022
The statement from the governor’s office said states had no warning about the FDA’s decision.
“This decision was made solely by Biden’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) without advance warning to states or health providers and without clinical data to support the decision,” DeSantis’ release said. “The deliberate decision by the Biden Administration to make this announcement effective immediately, through a press release, actively prevents states and health care providers from making real-time operational decisions that save lives.”
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said the federal government failed to “shut down” the virus.
“In our field of medicine, when someone comes to you seeking a treatment that could save their life, it is essential to have treatment options to ensure health care providers can make the best decisions for their patients,” said Ladapo in an official statement. “The Federal Government has failed to adequately provide the United States with adequate outpatient treatment options for COVID-19. Now, they are scrambling to cover up a failure to deliver on a promise to ‘shut down the virus.’”
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Photo “Ron DeSantis” by Federal Government of the United States of America. Photo “Joe Biden” by The White House. Background Photo “Monoclonal Antibody Treatment” by Official U.S. Navy Page. CC BY 2.0.
