Sens. Rick Scott, Marco Rubio Demand Information from HHS on Failure to Provide Life-Saving COVID-1

[riversedge]

This is what the stupid Repug Senators are whining about. His state of FL is over using the monoclonal antibodies so that other states have limited supply. wear a fucking mask and get vaccinated should be what he should be doing.






‘Substantial surge’ in monoclonal antibody treatments spurs HHS policy changes to ensure availability[/b

https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2021-09-07-substantial-surge-monoclonal-antibody-treatments-spurs-hhs-policy-changes



Sep 07, 2021 - 08:01 AM


The Department of Health and Human Services is making temporary changes to its distribution policies for monoclonal antibody therapies, with an eye on maintaining sufficient supply to meet current and future demand. HHS says the changes, which are in response to “a substantial surge in the utilization of monoclonal antibody drugs, particularly in areas of the country with low vaccination rates,” include:

limiting immediate orders and shipment only to administration sites with HHSProtect accounts and current utilization reporting; and
reviewing all orders for alignment with utilization, currently estimated at 70% of orders.


Hospitals with questions about ordering and distributing these treatments can email the Federal COVID-19 Response Team at [e-mail].

Link to tweet

?s=20




Sens. Rick Scott, Marco Rubio Demand Information from HHS on Failure to Provide Life-Saving COVID-19 Treatments


September 30, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio wrote a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra demanding answers after HHS restricted the availability of monoclonal antibody treatments for hospitals in Florida and other states.



This week, Senator Scott joined Senator Rubio to introduce the Treatment Restoration for Emergency Antibody Therapeutics (TREAT) Act which would stop HHS from restricting hospitals and healthcare facilities’ access to life-saving COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatments. Earlier this month, Senators Scott and Rubio urged HHS to reverse its decision to ration monoclonal antibody drugs for the outpatient treatment of COVID-19 to states and hospitals.



Read the full letter HERE or below.



September 30, 2021



The Honorable Xavier Becerra

Secretary

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

200 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20201



Dear Secretary Becerra:

As our nation continues its work to fully reopen and recover from the coronavirus (COVID-19), the best way forward to defeating this virus is making sure Americans have adequate prevention and treatment options against this terrible disease.



The Trump administration made incredible steps to develop, pre-purchase and distribute the COVID-19 vaccine through Operation Warp Speed. They also purchased substantial doses of monoclonal antibodies to reduce hospitalizations.



With the current surge of the COVID-19 delta variant, hospitalizations are up despite an increase in vaccination rates. Given this fact, we find the Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) recent decision to change the availability of monoclonal antibodies for states and hospitals incredibly disturbing. This change in policy could reduce the availability of these lifesaving medications to Floridians as well as individuals and families in other states. Under this new policy, Florida’s allocation has been set at about 31,000 doses of monoclonal antibodies, despite the fact that Florida needs about 36,000 doses each week. This stark difference in doses available as compared to doses used, and rationing of supply, will jeopardize the health and safety of Floridians, increase hospitalizations, and could lead to higher mortality rates.



To ensure our state and public health officials have every resource they need to keep families healthy, we request your immediate response to the following questions:

Did HHS do any modeling of what the COVID-19 surge could be when the delta variant was labeled a variant of concern, including potential hospitalizations and the need for medications? How accurate was the model to what we are experiencing?
Has HHS done any modeling of the other COVID-19 variants of concern?
Has HHS done any modeling of possible COVID-19 surges later this year?
The monoclonal antibody treatment Sotrovimab received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in May 2021. At the time of its EUA, Sotrovimab was shown to be 85% effective at preventing hospitalization, making it potentially more effective than the monoclonal antibodies that received an EUA in 2020.[3], [4] Why did HHS not purchase a supply of Sotrovimab?
What has the Biden administration done to expand manufacturing capacity for all EUA authorized monoclonal antibody therapies, especially to ensure domestic manufacturing for all authorized therapies?
Why did HHS not develop a robust plan to promote and expand the supply of monoclonal antibody therapy?
Under the new allotment system that HHS is imposing, what guidance is HHS providing to states for how to allocate available monoclonal antibodies to providers?
Do immunocompromised individuals have equal access to monoclonal antibody treatment for post-exposure prophylaxis, or are they a lower priority to another group?
If a provider follows state or HHS guidance on prioritizing patients due to the shortage of monoclonal antibody treatments, and that patient suffers hospitalization or another serious outcome, is there any liability protection for the provider?
When does HHS believe that monoclonal antibody supply will be sufficient to meet demand?
Why has HHS not developed public-private partnerships for translational research at the National Institutes of Health for new meaningful therapies?



The only way through this global pandemic is to ensure prevention and treatment options are available for every American. We are vaccinated, and we encourage every American to talk to their doctor and consider getting the vaccine. However, we know that for the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike, proper treatment with monoclonal antibodies can mean the difference between beating COVID-19 or succumbing to this terrible virus. Restricting the supply of lifesaving treatment is unethical and inexcusable.



We appreciate your immediate attention to this urgent matter and look forward to your prompt response.



Sincerely,

###



[3] https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-additional-monoclonal-antibody-treatment-covid-19

[4] https://www.wsj.com/articles/regeneron-covid-19-antibody-drug-reduced-risk-of-hospitalization-death-by-70-in-late-stage-trial-11616479200
https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2021/9/sens-rick-scott-marco-rubio-demand-information-from-hhs-on-failure-to-provide-life-saving-covid-19-treatments

[NoMoreRepugs]

1. It's embarrassing to admit Beavis n Butthead are my Senators.

[pwb]

2. Scott and Rubio

Fuck y'all. You think we saved the best for you? Vaccinate tough guys, we owe you nothing.

[Johonny]

3. I know that there's a metric shit ton of vaccine available

maybe they should investigate why people won't take it.

[riversedge]

4. They-would be investigating themselves--and DeSantis and his Administration!!!

[Septua]

5. Scott And Rubio DEMAND?

Becerra should tell them to fuck off...

Senators in general, GOP Senators in particular, are sanctimonious, overpaid, ivory tower elitists who expect accountability from everyone who actually contributes to a functioning country, while they accept accountability for nothing and simply keep a perpetual campaign going for the next election...

Yes, there are a few exceptions on both sides but for the rest, I got nothing for 'em but contempt...

[rickyhall]

6. The two of them together don't make an average IQ.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

7. Scott and other TFG's bootlickers forgot to mention the hospitalization surge is 95% unvaccinated.

[mitch96]

8. They did not mention a huge donor to the Repuke party in Fla is one of the largest providers

of monoclonal antibody treatment... Pay to play politics?
m