Florida surgeon general claims federal government limiting monoclonal antibody treatment

(WEAR) -- Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo claims that the federal government is preventing the distribution of monoclonal antibody treatments in the U.S.

In a letter to Department of Health and Human Services, Ladapo says that a dramatic reduction to the supply of monoclonal antibodies emerged shorty after Florida surpassed a 100,000 treatment milestone.

Ladapo says in the letter, federal agencies should not control or limit options to combat COVID-19.

"The federal government is actively preventing the effective distribution of monoclonal antibody treatments in the U.S," Ladapo said. "The sudden suspension of multiple monoclonal antibody therapy treatments from distribution to Florida removes a health care provider's ability to decide the best treatment options for their patients in this state. This shortsightedness is especially evident given that the federal government effectively prohibited states from purchasing these monoclonal antibodies and serving their populations directly."

Ladapo says in the letter that because some treatments offered may not be best effective against the Omicron variant, the federal government should not limit access to other available treatments.

The CDC released new estimates Tuesday, saying Omicron likely makes up 59 percent of all COVID cases in the U.S.