Thursday marks one month since a free, state-run monoclonal antibody treatment clinic opened in Jacksonville. As of Wednesday, 5,603 people have been treated between the city’s original Bay Street location and its current Downtown Public Library location. City officials say the clinic gave shots to almost 300 people on Wednesday, Sept. 8, alone.
Jacksonville’s downtown library clinic is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The antibody treatment is meant for people who have already been infected with coronavirus. Gov. Ron DeSantis has been promoting monoclonal antibody treatments, available now at 25 locations across the state, including Palm Coast as of this week. DeSantis was in Jacksonville last month for the opening of the first site and said he believes Regeneron should be the immediate response to a COVID diagnosis for people with other conditions.
“Antibody treatment, it should just be part of the standard of care that if a high-risk person comes down with COVID that they're immediately referred to get a monoclonal antibody treatment,” DeSantis said in August.
Still, the CDC says vaccinations remain more effective at preventing severe COVID-19 and nearly all adults who are hospitalized with COVID are unvaccinated.
We continue to see a record number of COVID-19 cases in our community. 92% of the COVID+ patients in our hospitals today are not vaccinated. The vaccine is your best chance against COVID-19. To learn more and find a vaccination site near you, visit https://t.co/1Xrx1Rkb5W. pic.twitter.com/UHyGgtkb9R
— Baptist Health (@BaptistHealthJx) September 8, 2021
According to the most recent data from the Florida Department of Health, 60% of Duval County residents aged 12 and up have been vaccinated.
Contact Claire Heddles at cheddles@wjct.org, (904) 250 - 0926, or on Twitter at @claireheddles.
