On NewsTalk 1370 WCOA, State Rep. Alex Andrade discussed how community leaders worked together to get a monoclonal antibody treatment center in Pensacola in a matter of days.
“Our hospital has been telling us for about two weeks that this monoclonal antibody treatment was getting higher and higher in demand,” said Andrade. The demand had gradually increased to the point the three local hospitals were doing about 120 total infusions per day. The nearest state-run treatment center is in Fort Walton Beach.
The lawmaker, who serves on the House Professions and Public Health Subcommittee, began to work with local officials to put together the necessary information to convince the governor’s office to establish a treatment center in Escambia County. Andrade called Escambia County Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore and the county commissioners.
“I asked them, one, to submit an emergency mission order to the Florida Department of Emergency Management, requesting a treatment center,” said Andrade. “And two, start coming up with a plan where if the state doesn’t actually end up funding this, the county and city are prepared to fund it themselves because there’s a need.”
He continued, “Mayor Robinson, the county commission, they both agreed to cover the $30,000 a day, the million dollars a month that it would take to run this. And thankfully, because of all that work, because of the mission order that was submitted to the Department of Emergency Management, the state saw that Pensacola absolutely needed it, and they came through with the funding. I was very excited for Governor DeSantis to come and announce that last week.”
Assume Bender is right and Escambia County needs to give 300 treatments a day. I would have more confidence if I heard it from the FDOH or the three hospital CEOs say that they could not handle increasing their capacity above 120 treatments a day. Also, the hospitals have small hospitals all over the county. Why can’t the treatments be given all over the county where the sick people are? Now, we have four treatment sites a few miles apart all bunched into the southeastern corner of a 656 square mile county. How does that make any sense at all? Where are the sick people in the county? Does anyone know? If there were going to be one “state” treatment site in Escambia County, I would have thought a better site would be in Cantonment or Myrtle Grove. Did any actual thought go into putting the site in East Hill or was the decision driven by 2022 electoral politics? Lastly, does the city council know anything about this and a potential massive city bill? Why would the city pay anything? All city residents are also county residents! Every square foot of Pensacola City is “in” Escambia County.
Thanks Andrade that is great. Now you need to push masks to stop the spread and vaccines to stop the hospitalizations and death rate. The school board and Mr. Smith need the support of the legislature about COVID. Governor has it wrong. You need to provide data.
Plus if someone could send him a thesaurus, that’d be great too.
He needs to know some bipartisans think it is in the best interest to protect public health. DeSantis had flawed reasoning when he cited the Brown Study in his EO on the DOE site about masks.
The subsequent fines for people wanting mask mandates and vaccine mandates is WRONG. Masks mandates and vaccine mandates are in line with the states’ duty and function to protect the public health. No matter what party you are in.
As an attorney and student of law he should review public health statutes passed during the past pandemics and disease out breaks in the USA.
And my god, leave Roe vs Wade alone.
I’m not a ” disgusting gross progressive”, (your own words) — just a person with some common sense.
Start here and read about the public health laws, Alex. then what happened in 1922 about school immunizations. Jacobson v. Massachusetts 1905
Personal freedoms during a contagious outbreak do not supercede the responsibility of the state to protect public health. Established law.
Don’t be gross and disgust us. ;) (reference to your posts on f/b)