Ron DeSantis is touting Covid treatments — even as he 'downplays' vaccines: report
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, overseeing the worst COVID performance of any state currently, on Monday announced he is turning an 85-year old sports stadium that can seat as many as 65,000 people into a site offering COVID-19 antibody treatment for up to 320 people per day.
Orlando's Camping World Stadium, which has been called the Tangerine Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl, will provide space for the treatments – but none for vaccines. In fact, there are no mass vaccination sites currently operating in the Sunshine State, according to the Orlando Sentinel, which says the Florida Republican governor's speech Monday "downplays vaccine effectiveness."
DeSantis actually declared Florida's "entire vulnerable population has basically been vaccinated," which is false. Everyone is vulnerable to the coronavirus, especially the delta variant, which is also skyrocketing hospitalizations even among children.
"So yeah, they're vaccinated. That's great," DeSantis said Monday of the elderly population. "That was the right thing to do. I do think it reduced for at least a few months the number of infections in nursing homes. But it's not just Florida, you're seeing now more people are testing positive. So then what do you do?"
Gov. Ron DeSantis: "Early treatment with these monoclonal antibodies, Regeneron and others, have proven to radically reduce the chance that somebody ends up being hospitalized. And at the end of the day, reducing hospital admissions has got to be a top priority."pic.twitter.com/RfzPfPILPn— The Hill (@The Hill) 1629143633
The percentage of those who are vaccinated, contract COVID, and are hospitalized are miniscule.
Nearly 50,000 new COVID cases were report Friday in Florida, more than twice the seven-day average.
DeSantis was thoroughly mocked and highly criticized for his approach, focusing on the antibody treatment instead of promoting vaccines.
You know what treatment works even earlier? Vaccines— Molly Jong-Fast (@Molly Jong-Fast) 1629153780
I can imagine being really sick and dragging myself to a stadium. What kind of madness is this? Get Floridians vaccinated, promote masks. But it's too late for that. No way for you to save face so now you have to cling to treatment of covid-sick people as they pass the virus on
— KnowYourObama (@KnowYourObama) August 16, 2021
you're diverting a FREE to the public ($39 govt) vaccine by using this passive vax at $2500 a crack —why?💰
Are u giving this to people who test + ?
Are u giving this as 3rd dose vaccine ?
Playing w immune systems as a political football is a dangerous but profitable game
— Cathy (@CathyNotToday) August 16, 2021
What next--"Keep smoking, folks. There's always chemo"?
— michael musto (@mikeymusto) August 16, 2021
DeSantis could be sending out 3m n95s at less than $1 each so Floridians would be less likely to catch Covid. Instead he's spending millions of tax payer bucks on "treatment sites" for an experimental drug that is not a guaranteed cure. This isn't "conservative" it's insane.
— Joe Bean (@24sales2U) August 16, 2021
But the Regeneron treatment is also not FDA approved and it requires not just a shot, but an hour long infusion.
So, why not just get the vaccine?
Please ask your doctor and don't trust this clown with your life.
— Leslieoo7 ☠️ 🇺🇲 (@Leslieoo7) August 16, 2021
AARP has published a list of how to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida.
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- DeSantis' top donor invested millions in COVID treatment he's now promoting — while downplaying vaccines - Alternet.org ›
- Fox & Friends joins Regeneron cult with flat-out lie: Antibody treatment is 'basically still getting vaccinated' - Alternet.org ›
- 'Begging you': Florida newspaper pleads with DeSantis to 'save people' instead of 'tweeting about pythons' - Alternet.org ›
- Watch: Ron DeSantis declares 'it really doesn’t impact me or anyone else' if people get vaccinated - Alternet.org ›
- New treatments for COVID-19 may stave off the worst effects of the virus - Alternet.org ›
