Bloomberg Opinion columnist Tim O’Brien falsely claimed that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is “pushing” the Regeneron antibody treatment for COVID-19 infections and it costs “at least $1,250 per dose,” potentially leaving readers with the impression that there is an out-of-pocket cost for the drug:
This can't be said enough: The regeneron treatment DeSantis is pushing cost at least $1,250 per dose.
Covid-19 vaccines cost $0. https://t.co/HSdUGjTROc
— Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) August 16, 2021
But this just isn’t true:
This is false.
The monoclonal antibody treatment costs the end user $0. They were purchased by the federal government last year. @TwitterSafety this kind of misinformation will cause less people to seek treatment, and it should be removed.
— Bruce In Key West (@BCinKW) August 17, 2021
Regeneron, the company, corrected him as well:
“Hi @TimOBrien – please know that the U.S. government has made our investigational antibody cocktail for #COVID19 available for free to patients who qualify under Emergency Use Authorization parameters (just like the vaccines are).”
Hi @TimOBrien – please know that the U.S. government has made our investigational antibody cocktail for #COVID19 available for free to patients who qualify under Emergency Use Authorization parameters (just like the vaccines are). More info here: https://t.co/AV44xQ83s7
— Regeneron (@Regeneron) August 16, 2021
It’s also important to note that these monoclonal antibody treatments are only approved for non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients as they “may be associated with worse clinical outcomes when administered to hospitalized patients with COVID-19 requiring high flow oxygen or mechanical ventilation”:
re patients in ICU wards and on respirators, etc., the EUA says the monoclonal antibody treatments actually make it worse if you're already in bad shape which is why getting treated before you develop severe symptoms is important ==>https://t.co/R6Sh4giXQs pic.twitter.com/3Kncos8tq6
— Greg Pollowitz (@GPollowitz) August 17, 2021
O’Brien should delete his tweet, and pronto:
You’re incorrect and should delete this. @TwitterSupport should suspend this misinformation— imagine if it prevented someone from getting care they needed because they didn’t know it was actually free to them.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) August 17, 2021
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Related:
‘Unethical’: Christina Pushaw slams Nikki Fried campaign consultant for risking lives to push ‘BlueAnon conspiracy theory’ about Ron DeSantis https://t.co/Dsf79RDqQa
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) August 17, 2021
