A second monoclonal antibody treatment site opened Tuesday in Jacksonville, but appointments went fast.
No appointments were available early Tuesday, although appointments for Thursday were available later in the day.
The new monoclonal treatment site at 10080 Beach Blvd. will give out the treatments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. by appointment only.
The site is operated by the health care staffing company Pulse Clinical Alliance, which uses the same appointment portal as the rest of Florida's sites.
Pulse Clinical Alliance did not respond to questions Tuesday afternoon about which therapy they are delivering or how many appointments are available per day.
Monoclonal antibody treatment is intended for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or were in close contact with someone who was infected. It can lead to milder COVID symptoms and reduce the chances of a hospital stay.
Jacksonville opened its first monoclonal antibody site in August at the Main Library and moved it last month to the Joseph Lee Center, at 5120 Perry St. The site administers 40 to 90 bamlanivimab doses daily, according to its operator, CDR Health.
Florida's appointment portal requires patients to make a profile, provide contact information and answer other health questions before showing availability.
The new monoclonal site opened as COVID cases skyrocketed in Duval County. Reported cases hit an all-time high of almost 20,000 last week.
The actual number of cases is likely much higher, as Gov. Ron DeSantis has discouraged asymtomatic Florida residents from getting tested for COVID and at-home tests have become more available.
In contrast, the federal government strongly encourages COVID testing as much as possible. A new portal for ordering free at-home COVID tests from the federal government opened this week.
COVID hospitalizations have also continued to climb at some Duval County hospitals, but they haven't hit the highs from the summer delta wave. Hospitalizations declined statewide this week — to 10,893 on Tuesday from 11,078 a week earlier.
Ascension St. Vincent's said it had 169 hospitalizations Tuesday across its three hospitals. That number is 39% of the hospital system's peak last August.
As of Tuesday, Baptist Health reported 224 COVID patients across its five hospitals. That's a little less than half the number of patients in the hospital at the height of the delta spike.
Florida totaled more than 430,000 cases of COVID-19 in the week that ended Thursday, a reflection of how fast the omicron variant continues to spread, according to the state Department of Health.
The 430,297 cases brought the total for the past four weeks to a reported 1.252 million cases, almost seven times as many as the 63,477 cases in the previous four weeks.
A pop-up COVID testing site in downtown Jacksonville has temporarily closed, as the operating company faces investigations in multiple states.
The site, named “Free COVID testing Jacksonville,” was on Bay Street across from the Wells Fargo building and was operated by the Center for COVID Control.
The Chicago-based company faces an investigation from the Illinois attorney general, as well as investigations in other states, over improper safety procedures, faulty testing and missing results.
The business shuttered its offices nationwide and says it will reopen testing sites this coming Saturday after companywide training on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention procedures.
Over a dozen recent online reviews for the Jacksonville location mention testing results being delayed or never delivered, and disorganized staff placing crowds of patients into small spaces.
Other COVID testing sites in Jacksonville are listed on the city's emergency preparedness website.
Information from the News Service of Florida and Raymon Troncoso of WJCT was used in this report
