Miami-Dade County's COVID-19 site at Tropical Park has run out of
Regeneron antibody drugs amid a surge in cases, officials said Tuesday.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's office confirmed the site had run out of Regeneron. Officials said they've been informed that other parts of the state have also run out.
A spokesperson with the Florida Department of Health said the monoclonal antibody sites in Miami-Dade, Broward, Lee and St. Lucie would be temporarily closed Tuesday and reopen on Wednesday while they are training staff in additional administration techniques.
The spokesperson said the state was reallocating monoclonal treatments from areas of the state with less demand.
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"With omicron being a more transmissible variant, Florida has also requested additional allocations from the federal government," the spokesperson said in a statement. "Due to the federal government contracting directly with supplying providers to buy the treatments, the state can no longer directly obtain treatments as we have done previously, and we are dependent on the federal government for supply. As we continue to monitor the severity of illness from omicron, the symptoms are still relatively mild."
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Tropical Park is a 24/7 vaccination and PCR testing site with drive-up service. It's one of two sites in the county that offers free monoclonal antibody treatment for anyone 12 and older who's at high risk and who has contracted or been exposed to COVID-19.
The park has seen long lines in recent days as the omicron variant has spread in the county.
OMICRON LATEST
It was reported this week that omicron has overtaken the delta variant in Miami-Dade as the dominant strain of the coronavirus in just a matter of weeks, according to genomic surveillance data.
Genetic sequencing of the virus showed omicron grew from a tiny fraction of hundreds of samples taken the first week of December to nearly three of every four samples taken last week.
