As the omicron variant causes record-high COVID-19 cases across the country, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI) led three other Wisconsin congressmen in urging the Biden administration to ensure monoclonal antibody treatments are available to their home state.
Three monoclonal antibody treatments have received emergency use authorizations to treat COVID-19, Rep. Steil and his colleagues wrote in a Jan. 24 letter sent to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“We are disappointed to learn that only 300,000 doses will be available for distribution this month,” the members wrote. “300,000 doses will not be sufficient.”
They requested an overview of monoclonal antibody treatment resources currently being deployed to Wisconsin, as well as an estimate for when additional treatments like sotrovimab will be made available to their state.
“It is essential that the administration provide us with a detailed plan to ensure that we do not again face critical shortages of life-saving treatments,” wrote the lawmakers.
In a separate statement, Rep. Steil reiterated that the 300,000 doses of monoclonal antibodies being provided across states is “far too short.”
“We cannot face another shortage in supplies, particularly as we try to navigate our way out of this pandemic,” he said. “I urge the Biden administration to provide a detailed plan for treatments like sotrovimab that will be made available to Wisconsin.”