AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) – Governor Greg Abbott announced on Friday that Texas has requested resources for federally-supported testing locations and medical personnel and additional federal allocations of monoclonal antibodies.
The request comes amid a significant spike in COVID cases in some of the state’s largest counties.
“Detecting COVID-19 and preventing COVID-related hospitalizations are critical to our fight against this virus,” said Governor Abbott. “While the Biden administration has cut supplies of monoclonal antibody treatments and testing kits when they are needed most, the State of Texas is urging the federal government to step up in this fight and provide the resources necessary to help protect Texans. Testing sites, additional medical staff, and continued shipments of therapeutics from the federal government will help us continue to save lives and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
Based on current COVID-19 metrics, including positivity rate and hospitalizations, Texas has requested FEMA testing sites in Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo and Tarrant counties. The Governor said the additional testing capability will help in identifying people with COVID-19, including the Omicron variant, and help prevent and reduce further transmission.
DSHS has requested additional allocations of sotrovimab, a monoclonal antibody therapeutic that is proven to be effective in fighting the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and reducing hospitalizations. The agency also requested that the federal government continue to supply the State of Texas with Regeneron and bamlanivimab, monoclonal antibody treatments for other strains of COVID-19 that have also proven to help reduce hospitalizations across the state. Additionally, DSHS has requested three teams of medical personnel to provide additional support to hospitals in urban areas of the state that do not have DSHS-contracted staff.
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