(Bloomberg) -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state has acquired a small number of monoclonal antibody treatments from GlaxoSmithKline Plc, after he complained that the federal government had reduced shipments of the therapeutics.
Speaking Thursday in Tampa, DeSantis said the state acquired 3,000 doses of GlaxoSmithKline's Sotrovimab. DeSantis has opened more than 25 state-sponsored sites to administer the treatments, while also raising questions about why he hasn't continued to promote vaccines with the same zeal.
“I'm happy that we're not just sitting on our rump, we're making things happen,” DeSantis said.
The U.S. government changed how it distributes antibody treatments earlier this month, saying it would allocate them to states based on Covid-19 case numbers and use of the treatments locally. At the time, seven states accounted for the bulk of ordering, and the Department of Health and Human Services wanted to make supply more consistent to needs across the country, an agency spokesperson said then. The change has encountered pushback, including from Tommy Tuberville, a Republican senator from Alabama, who said the new policy singled out largely Republican-led states.
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