Commissioner Nikki Fried Calls on White House to Maintain Current Antibody Allotments for Florida

Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried wrote to President Joe Biden requesting that any changes to Florida’s allotment of monoclonal antibody therapy doses be delayed until COVID-19 cases in the state are further reduced.

Florida has seen the number of new cases and hospitalizations decline over recent weeks as the state’s vaccination rate has increased from below the national average at 48 percent when Commissioner Fried provided her first COVID-19 briefing at the end of July to above the national average at 55.6 percent today. Despite this progress, too many Floridians are still falling ill with COVID-19 as overall cases near 3.5 million and thousands of patients remain hospitalized across the state.

 Commissioner Fried’s letter may be viewed here and reads as follows:

Dear Mr. President,

On behalf of the State of Florida, thank you for your leadership during this precipitous rise of COVID-19 impacting our great nation. In particular, I’d like to express gratitude for making COVID-19 vaccination not only a priority of your Administration, but a moral imperative and patriotic duty that will help our country fight and win against this pandemic.

While the federal government has saved lives by delivering over 460 million vaccine doses, we have endured a less proactive pandemic response here in Florida. As you know, Governor Ron DeSantis has made fighting teachers, schools, parents, children, doctors, businesses, and state and federal law his priority while the virus rages across our state, with our state currently suffering the nation’s most COVID-19 deaths per capita and deaths of nursing home residents and staff.

This dubious distinction would have perhaps been mitigable had our Governor listened to science and scientists, made priorities of vaccines, mask-wearing, and data transparency, and focused on fighting this virus instead of our residents. Yet Florida lags behind twenty other states in fully-vaccinated residents, and an estimated 92 percent of those hospitalized for COVID-19 are unvaccinated – all while dangerous disinformation on vaccine and mask effectiveness is spread by the Governor’s office.

While we push to increase vaccination and mask-wearing in Florida, we continue to have too many of our residents sickened and hospitalized by the virus, with more than 9,500 Floridians hospitalized at this moment, and over 2,400 COVID-19 patients in our near-full intensive care units. Getting COVID-19 under control in Florida requires a whole-of-government response that includes making adequate treatment options available for those who need it most.

Of course, vaccination remains scientifically proven as the most effective tool in preventing serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19, with up to 95 percent effectiveness against severe disease – not to mention the cost effectiveness of receiving a free, scientifically-proven vaccine to prevent serious illness and hospitalization versus the costs associated with becoming sick and then seeking monoclonal antibody therapy or other medical assistance. However, for those who unfortunately test positive for the virus, monoclonal antibody therapy may help reduce symptoms and hospitalization risk when treated early.

While monoclonal antibody therapy has been emergency-use authorized for nearly a year, frustratingly little was done by the DeSantis Administration to promote its use until last month – well into our state’s worst-ever COVID-19 wave. While federal health officials have set Florida’s allocation of treatment doses at 30,950, I am concerned that more residents may need to avail themselves of this therapy than doses will be available, given our state’s long delay in implementing this therapy. While we certainly understand the frustration at the inequitable distribution of this treatment to just a handful of states, I would respectfully ask that time be extended before altering our current dose allotments, giving our state time to further reduce COVID-19 cases from their recent peaks.

Florida’s citizens have been victims of the DeSantis Administration’s pandemic mismanagement and misinformation. Too many of our residents have been unfortunately led astray by our Governor and right-wing media, that one can contract COVID-19 without consequence, and trading a fully FDA-approved, safe, and proven effective vaccine for an experimental emergency treatment. In this misleading environment, our citizens have even turned to drugs like ivermectin, promoted by physicians advising the Governor, but primarily used for livestock de-worming.

Because of this misinformation, too many of our people are continuing to get sick and die, every day. As a statewide elected official, it’s my obligation to protect the lives of every Floridian in every corner of our state – regardless of party or ideology. As we do everything we can to reduce illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19, ensuring the continued availability of this therapy will help us fulfill this obligation.

I thank you for your consideration of this request to delay reductions in Florida’s current allocation of monoclonal antibody therapy doses, as we continue the important work of helping every eligible Floridian access the vaccine that will put this unprecedented pandemic behind us as Americans.

Sincerely,

Nicole Fried
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture

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