Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continued his state tour Wednesday touting the use of monoclonal antibodies as a treatment for those who get sick with COVID-19, and a way to relieve pressure on hospitals.
Speaking at a news conference in Fort Myers Wednesday morning, DeSantis said more than 40,000 patients have been treated with monoclonal antibodies throughout Florida, and said the state is seeing a decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations and emergency room visits since the treatments began.
"We believe a number of them would have been hospitalized but for this treatment and we believe it's already saving lives," DeSantis said.
The state has set up 21 sites throughout the state to administer monoclonal antibody treatments
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Daily COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state surged to nearly 17,000 last month, but were down to 15,387 on Tuesday, according to figures released by the Florida Hospital Association.
DeSantis said Florida is the No. 1 state in the southeast for vaccinations with almost 13 million Floridians vaccinated. He said while vaccinations are the main component to bringing down COVID-19 hospitalizations, it's also important to have options to treat patients who have the virus.
"I think what we're seeing with the data, is the vaccinations are necessary but not sufficient, you gotta have something on the back end too, you gotta have treatment options," DeSantis said.
