Other Florida Republicans have joined Gov. Ron DeSantis and state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo in complaining about the Biden administration cutting off potentially life-saving monoclonal antibody treatment.
Led by Sen. Marco Rubio, 16 other GOP lawmakers from Florida on Friday fired off a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra about the denial of the therapeutics, commonly known as mAbs.
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration yanked the emergency-use authorization for mAbs made by Regeneron and Eli Lilly after claiming they were ineffective against the omicron strain of COVID-19, which has spread like wildfire in Florida since being detected on Dec. 1. Even the companies doubt the efficacy of their own drugs.
Yet DeSantis and Ladapo countered that the delta variant, which the drugs at issue helped stop cold, was still prevalent in many parts of North Florida. More recently, they have argued that tourists could be bringing delta or other non-omicron variants into the Sunshine State.
In their letter, the Republican lawmakers blasted the Biden administration for putting people at risk.
“At a time when the federal government should be doing everything in its power to support states and healthcare providers fighting this pandemic, the Biden Administration has instead chosen to disrupt the response effort by unexpectedly cutting access to life-saving treatments that hundreds of thousands of Americans rely on. In Florida alone, the FDA’s abrupt decision has resulted in more than 2,000 cancellations for patients seeking treatment at mAbs state sites and thousands more through private healthcare providers,” the letter states.
In addition, the letter says, the HHS “gave little notice and failed to coordinate with states and healthcare providers when a major change in policy was being considered. This heavy-handed approach has left Floridians in the dark and put thousands of lives at unnecessary risk. It demands accountability.”
In a statement, Rep Matt Gaetz noted, “The critical role that monoclonal antibodies have played in COVID-19 treatment is undeniable.”
“Science has shown in study after study that this treatment is a miracle drug for COVID-19 patients and receiving this treatment can be a matter of life or death for patients. Nevertheless, real science is cast to the side in favor of politics,” Gaetz added.
“Monoclonal antibody treatment sites throughout Florida, which have aided in saving thousands of American lives, will now be closed until further notice. … The Biden administration has made an irresponsible decision to disrupt the response effort by unexpectedly cutting access to life-saving treatments that hundreds of thousands of Americans rely on.”
In the letter, the GOP lawmakers demand to know what “clinical data” the FDA relied on to support what appears to be the agency’s “politically motivated decision-making.”
A recent report by The Blaze suggests none – as Gov. DeSantis has maintained.
On Thursday, the conservative news website reported that it obtained fact sheets about the mAbs that the FDA is distributing to healthcare providers.
“Experts confirmed the reports appear to show that in a lab setting, the monoclonal antibody treatments appear to be less effective against the Omicron variant,” The Blaze reported.
Which is the point: the FDA’s position has not been confirmed by using mAbs on actual patients with omicron.
The Blaze consulted with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a medical professor at Stanford University who has worked with DeSantis.
“These results suggest that mABs are less likely to work when given to patients with an Omicron infection than they did versus earlier variants,” he acknowledged.
“But the sheets do not provide any clinical evidence from real world use of these medications on patients to verify the findings,” he added.
Kyle Lamb, a COVID researcher who works for DeSantis, pointed out to The Blaze that on its own fact sheets the FDA admits, “It is not known how … data correlate with clinical outcomes.”
“Their own literature acknowledges they don’t know how well the treatment will hold up against clinical illness,” Lamb told The Blaze.
“Here in Florida, we are still receiving feedback from practitioners and hospitals statewide that they are observing what they believe to be some level of effectiveness against clinical disease, even with Omicron cases,” he added.
“That is why we are adamant that the FDA and HHS should be using clinical data to support this decision, and should be transparent with the data they are basing these actions.”
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It’s becomes more and more clear that the elites want many of us dead. And I fully believe that they are concentrating that desire on the right side of the isle.