Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is asking the Biden administration for help in handling the current COVID-19 crisis in Texas after the State Department said: have exhausted the antibody treatment It has proven to be the most effective against the omicron version.
Abbott issued a statement Friday indicating that the Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) and the Texas Department of Public Health (DSHS) had requested resources from Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo and Taranto. For places.
The governor said the state Department of Health has asked three medical teams to provide additional support to county state hospitals that do not have DSHS contracted staff, as well as additional monoclonal antibody treatment assignments to combat the omicron version. Other versions of the virus.
“Detection of COVID-19 կանխ Preventing hospitalizations related to COVID-19 is crucial to our fight against this virus.” Abbott said in a statement. “Test sites, additional medical staff, and continued deliveries of therapeutic agents from the federal government will help us continue to save lives and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
The governor said in a statement Friday “The Biden administration has cut the supply of monoclonal antibody test and treatment kits when they are most needed. The state of Texas is urging the federal government to take steps to provide the resources needed to help protect Texans. “
Since March 2021The governor has argued that mitigation efforts, such as mask or vaccine mandates, are not the job of the state;
Meanwhile, as new COVID-19 cases rise, infusion centers across the state are said to have have exhausted their stock of sotrovimab, currently a therapeutic agent for monoclonal antibodies is available under the Emergency Use Permit to treat the infected with the most transmissible homicron version.
According to the state agency, the shortage of therapeutic drugs is due to a national shortage. The centers are expected to receive new shipments in early January, as previously announced by the federal government.
Earlier this week, DSHS said other monoclonal antibodies had not been effective against the homicron version, which now accounts for more than 90% of new cases. DSHS announced an additional assignment on Friday sotrovimab He was asked to help treat a growing number of infected Texans.
The agency also asked the federal government to continue supplying Regeneron և bamlanivimab to Texas, a monoclonal antibody treatment that has been shown to help reduce hospitalizations for other strains of COVID-19 throughout the state.
President Joe Biden said last week The federal government was going to buy 500 million COVID-19 rapid test kits and distribute them to people for free for home use. But despite huge public demand for the tests, it will take a few weeks for these packages to be available for delivery. The administration is still working on the details of how the program will work.
Covid cases are on the rise in DFW, Texas
The number of new COVID-19 cases has risen dramatically across the state over the past week, while hospitalizations in DFW have doubled. The level of molecular positivity reported by the State Department of Health on Thursday It has been at its highest point since the epidemic began about two years ago.
On Tuesday, Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas said its patient load had doubled in just four days. The hospital said staff were scheduled to open two more COVID-19 departments by the end of this week. Dr. Joseph Chang, Parkland’s chief medical officer, says that the majority of COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized are not vaccinated.
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