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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Gov. Ron DeSantis is blasting the Biden administration after the FDA revoked the use of two different monoclonal antibody treatments, forcing Florida to shutter treatment clinics across the state.
Driving the news: The FDA halted monoclonal antibody cocktails made by Regeneron and Eli Lilly on Monday after finding they’re not effective against the Omicron variant.
The FDA pointed to CDC statistics showing that Omicron accounted for 99% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as of Jan. 15.
The agency noted that "data show these treatments are highly unlikely to be active" against Omicron, so monoclonal antibody treatments could therefore risk unnecessary side effects.
The other side: DeSantis and Florida health officials are arguing the treatments should be distributed even if they're significantly less effective against Omicron than they were against Delta.