Demand for COVID antibody drugs soars in hard-hit states

By KELLI KENNEDY and MATTHEW PERRONE
Associated Press

A photograph of people laying down on the floor in pain while waiting for antibody infusions at a treatment site in Jacksonville, Florida, has become a vivid illustration of the huge demand for COVID-19 drugs amid a surge in infections. Monoclonal antibodies remain one of a handful of therapies that can blunt the worst effects of COVID-19. The antibody treatments have risen in demand in several states, including Florida, Louisiana and Texas, where officials have refused to impose mask mandates and health care workers are struggling to curb hospitalizations among the unvaccinated