FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans to open more monoclonal antibody therapy treatment sites across the state Monday morning while in Fort Lauderdale with Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. 

As the country sees a surge in omicron infections, even among the vaccinated, DeSantis touts the effectiveness of antibody treatment on some omicron patients. 

Miami-Dade is one of the most vaccinated areas in Florida and has seen a record number of omicron cases. 

DeSantis said they will open sites in Miami-Dade, Central Florida, and Jacksonville, and that Florida has the infrastructure to add more sites when needed. 

During the press conference, DeSantis said after push back from the state, the federal government will once again ship antibody treatments to the states. He said the federal government stopped the shipment because an early study said the treatments didn't work on omicron patients, however, DeSantis said that's not the case. 

"Omicron is not the only variant out there, and it's something that we have actually seen applied with omicron patients and getting symptoms resolved so it's not clear that this is something that's not going to be a benefit," he said. "It may not be as good against delta, but we want to have that here for patients to be able to do it."

DeSantis said the state will get treatments sites open immediately once the state receives treatments from the federal government. 

He also noted the state has already asked the legislature to set aside nearly $1 billion for this treatment.