Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is blasting a decision by the Food and Drug Administration to revoke emergency authorization for COVID-19 antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly.
The decision to revoke came as the health regulators said the drugs are unlikely to work against the omicron variant.
The Palm Beach Post noted the antibody treatment had become central to Florida's COVID-19 response.
As a result of the FDA’s decision on Monday, more than 2,000 Florida residents saw their appointments to receive the treatment on Tuesday canceled.
"Without a shred of clinical data to support this action, [President Joe] Biden has forced trained medical professionals to choose between treating their patients or breaking the law," DeSantis said.
"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 Associated Press noted DeSantis has aggressively pitched antibody drugs as part of his administration's response to COVID-19. He has maintained the drugs continued to aid some omicron patients.
Florida's Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo also condemned the FDA decision.
"The federal government has failed to adequately provide the United States with adequate outpatient treatment options for COVID-19," he said.
The Palm Beach Post reported the American Medical Association's president, Gerald E. Hamilton, praised the federal government for "following the scientific evidence and limiting the use of monoclonal antibody treatments to those that are effective against the omicron variant."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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