The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) announced they would be closing the state’s Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Centers after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revised their authorization for the main monoclonal antibody treatments. The FDA says that the treatments whose emergency use was revoked do not have good efficacy against the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.

Currently, the Omicron variant is responsible for 99% of all COVID-19 cases in the United States.

This change to the emergency use authorization does not allow providers to administer the treatments in the United States for Omicron.

According to the FDA – if a future variant emerges that monoclonal antibodies will treat effectively, the organization has left the door open to using the therapeutic.

Currently, the Florida Department of Health website does not list any facilities for monoclonal antibodies on its website. It does list a CVS in Fort Walton Beach that provides Paxlovid and Molnupiravir Oral Antiviral.

The FDA says that Paxlovid and Molnupiravir Oral Antiviral are still available and are effective against the Omicron variant. “Importantly, there are several other therapies – Paxlovid, sotrovimab, Veklury (remdesivir), and molnupiravir – that are expected to work against the omicron variant, and that are authorized or approved to treat patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk for progression to severe disease, including hospitalization or death. Healthcare providers should consult the NIH panel’s COVID-19 treatment guidelines and assess whether these treatments are right for their patients.”

The FDOH has announced that 2,000 appointments for monoclonal antibody treatment have been cancelled for January 25th.

Click here for a full response on the situation from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.