GOP governors embrace Covid cocktails over masks as cases surge

Source: Politico | August 19, 2021 | Dan Goldberg

The push to medicate rankles public health officials and some within the Biden administration, who say the governors’ stance misleadingly implies Covid-19 can be treated easily.

Republican governors in some of the states hardest hit by the pandemic are pushing expensive Covid cocktails over cheap masks.

The governors in Florida, Missouri and Texas are promising millions of dollars in antibody treatments for infected people even as they oppose vaccine and mask mandates, saying they can potentially keep people with mild Covid symptoms out of hospitals that are being swamped by new cases. But the treatments and cost of providing them are thousands of dollars more than preventive vaccines, and tricky to administer because they work best early in the course of an infection.

The push to medicate rankles public health officials and some within the Biden administration, who say the governors’ stance misleadingly implies Covid-19 can be treated easily, like the common cold. They note treatments like Regeneron’s antibody cocktail — which was administered to former President Donald Trump during his bout with the disease — are essential but part of a limited arsenal to keep patients from being hospitalized or dying, not a game-changer that could help end the pandemic.

“These leaders should also be promoting the best public health guidance at what we know works to protect individuals against the virus, not just treat the virus, including wearing a mask,” said an administration official who wasn’t authorized to speak on the matter.

……..

The red state officials are nonetheless forging ahead on antibody treatments. Florida’s surgeon general on Monday issued a blanket prescription for Regeneron’s cocktail so anyone in the state can receive it without a doctor’s sign off.

The federal government purchased more than 1.5 million doses of Regeneron’s treatment for roughly $2,100 per dose. The drug is free to patients though states are paying to set up and staff sites to dispense the drug.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who tested positive on Monday for Covid-19 and received Regeneron’s cocktail, announced nine new antibody infusion centers last week, saying they can prevent hospitalizations.

And Missouri plans to spend $15 million in CARES Act money to open and staff at least five new infusion centers across the state.

The governors in all three states have encouraged residents to get vaccinated while downplaying the effectiveness of other mitigation measures such as masks and lockdowns and rejecting mandatory vaccinations. Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are in court defending their prohibition on school mask mandates, even as the two states now account for more than one-third of the nation’s Covid hospitalizations.

……..

Tagged: , , , , ,

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.