Governor Ron DeSantis is promising to fight the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after it revoked its emergency authorization for a COVID treatment made by two drug manufacturers, including one which happens to be heavily invested in by the Florida Republican’s billionaire top donor.
That donor is Citadel hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who as of last summer had donated over $10 million to a DeSantis political action committee, the AP reports, and over $100 million to Republicans nationwide, according to Florida Politics.
“Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund, has $15.9 million in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc., according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,” the August 2021 AP report reveals. “Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has donated $10.75 million to a political committee that supports DeSantis — $5.75 million in 2018 and $5 million last April.”
The omicron variant accounts for more than 99 percent of new COVID cases in the U.S., and the current monoclonal antibody treatment drugs have been proven to not be effective against omicron, the FDA and at least one of the drug’s manufacturers say.
DeSantis has been trying to turn the state into a free-for-all where it was illegal to mandate masks – until the courts stepped in. The governor and his Surgeon General – who has ties to an infamous alien DNA, demon sperm, and hydroxychloroquine-pushing doctor – have focused on promoting COVID therapies instead of COVID preventatives.
The Florida Department of Health on Tuesday was forced to close its monoclonal antibody treatment sites after the FDA’s move.
Desantis is outraged.
“Governor Ron DeSantis is demanding the Biden Administration reverse its sudden and reckless decision to revoke emergency use authorization (EUA) for Regeneron and Eli Lilly monoclonal antibody treatments. This abrupt and unilateral action by the Biden Administration will prevent access to lifesaving treatments for Floridians and Americans,” DeSantis said in a statement.
His Surgeon General echoed DeSantis’ remarks.
“The Federal Government has failed to adequately provide the United States with adequate outpatient treatment options for COVID-19. Now, they are scrambling to cover up a failure to deliver on a promise to ‘shut down the virus,’” said Dr. Joseph Ladapo.
On Tuesday during a briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki called the DeSantis move “crazy.”
The coronavirus pandemic continues to rage through the U.S. in large part because of pro-COVID policies like those DeSantis is promoting.
Late Monday night Health and Human Services spokesperson slammed a Florida Dept. of Health spokesperson: