Florida battles federal government again over monoclonal antibody supplies

Florida’s top doctor has launched a new battle against the White House over recent shortages of the monoclonal antibody treatment used to fight severe COVID-19 infection.

In a scathing letter sent on Tuesday, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo charged the Biden administration with “actively preventing the effective distribution of monoclonal antibody treatments." But the Department of Health and Human Services rejected those claims.

“The federal government has and will continue to supply Florida with treatments that can help improve patient outcomes, reduce stress on healthcare facilities, and save lives. We have never stopped allocating or shipping COVID-19 therapeutics to Florida,” an HHS spokesman told the Washington Examiner.

The Biden administration took over the distribution of treatment shipments in September amid a national shortage. The federal government scaled back shipments of monoclonal antibody treatments to Florida and six other southern states, which accounted for 70% of orders nationwide. The department noted it was concerned those states would use up the finite supply, saying officials would “work to ensure our supply of these life-saving therapies remains available for all states and territories, not just some.”