Lt. Col. Allen West, candidate for Texas governor, hospitalized with COVID-19



Former Florida congressman and current Republican candidate for governor of Texas Lt. Col. Allen West was hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday, but he says he's "doing great" after receiving early treatment.

West and his wife, Angela West, were both diagnosed with the virus after attending a crowded fundraiser in Seabrook, Texas, last week. On Saturday, he announced that he is "suspending in-person events until receiving an all-clear indication" from his doctors.

Sharing an update on his condition, he said he and his wife were given monoclonal antibody treatments and that he was expected to be admitted to the hospital after chest X-rays showed he had COVID-related pneumonia.

2/ My chest X-rays do show COVID pneumonia, not serious. I am probably going to be admitted to the hospital.

— Allen West (@AllenWest) 1633813696.0

West was admitted to a hospital in Plano, a Dallas suburb, on Sunday. In a phone interview with the Associated Press, he reported that he has "no complaints. I'm just relaxing."

Angela West, who was vaccinated against COVID-19, has been released to go home. The former congressman, who is not vaccinated, said he was kept for observation because his oxygen saturation levels were a bit low.

In several social media posts, West criticized COVID-19 vaccines and strongly stated his opposition to vaccine mandates.

"I can attest that, after this experience, I am even more dedicated to fighting against vaccine mandates. Instead of enriching the pockets of Big Pharma and corrupt bureaucrats and politicians, we should be advocating the monoclonal antibody infusion therapy," West tweeted Sunday.

"Instead of jabbing Americans, and not illegal immigrants, with a dangerous shot which injects them with these spike proteins ... guess what? I now have natural immunity and double the antibodies, and that's science," he said.

"As Governor of Texas, I will vehemently crush anyone forcing vaccine mandates in the Lone Star State. There are far better protocols that individual citizens can utilize and decide for themselves."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, having been approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration and administered to millions of people in the United States. Side effects are rare, and the CDC says that "the known risks of COVID-19 illness and its related, possibly severe complications, such as long-term health problems, hospitalization, and even death, far outweigh the potential risks of having a rare adverse reaction to vaccination, including the possible risk of myocarditis or pericarditis."

West, the former Texas Republican Party chairman, announced in July that he would challenge Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who is running for a third term and has received former President Donald Trump's endorsement.

West announced his campaign for governor one month after resigning as chairman of the Texas GOP. He has made opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other coronavirus restrictions a central theme of his campaign and activism in Texas.

In October 2020, West participated in a protest outside Abbott's home, objecting to statewide mask mandate and lockdown orders issued by Abbott during the pandemic.

After the Wests' diagnosis, Abbott wished both of them a speedy recovery.

@GregAbbott_TX Thank you so very much, it is appreciated.

— Allen West (@AllenWest) 1633814939.0

Fauci promotes monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 that Gov. DeSantis has touted for weeks



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is right about early monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19 saving lives, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The White House's top health adviser on COVID-19 told reporters Tuesday that people sick with COVID-19 can reduce their risk of hospitalization and death by as much as 85% if they receive monoclonal antibody treatments in the early stages of their illness.

"It is important to emphasize that this must be done early in infection and not wait, of course, until a person is sick enough to be hospitalized," Fauci said during a news conference on COVID-19.

"That's when you get the best effect. And again, being an underutilized intervention, we want people out there, including physicians as well as potential patients, to realize the advantage of this very effective way of treating early infection."

The Food and Drug Administration in May issued an emergency use authorization for monoclonal antibody therapies to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and children older than 12. The agency said that evidence suggested the treatments may be beneficial for keeping high-risk patients with COVID-19 out of the hospital.

For weeks now, DeSantis has strongly promoted early treatment for COVID-19 using the lab-made antibodies and has opened multiple sites in his state where sick people can receive free treatment before they need to be hospitalized. The governor has also urged Floridians to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to reduce their risk of serious illness and avoid the need for treatment in the first place.

But DeSantis has been maligned for promoting this treatment. An Associated Press report published last week insinuated that the governor has been promoting the treatment, which is manufactured by Regeneron, to benefit one of his top donors who is heavily invested in the company. The governor strongly pushed back against the story, accusing the AP of publishing a "partisan smear" and discouraging people from seeking "life-saving treatment."

Others have criticized the governor over the cost of the drug, which at $1,000 per Regeneron treatment is more expensive than a $25 vaccine dose. But DeSantis has pointed out that vaccines won't help people who are already infected with COVID-19 and need treatment. And Fauci agrees that monoclonal antibody treatments are both effective and currently underutilized .

"Bottom line is this is a very effective intervention for COVID-19. It is underutilized, and we recommend strongly that we utilize this to its fullest," Fauci said Tuesday.

DeSantis accuses Associated Press of deterring people from 'life-saving treatment' with 'botched and discredited' hit piece



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday sent a blistering letter to Associated Press CEO Daisy Veerasingham accusing the news outlet of publishing a "partisan smear" against him and possibly discouraging COVID-19 positive Floridians from seeking "life-saving treatment."

The governor sent the letter in response to a complaint he received from the AP about his press secretary Christina Pushaw's criticisms of a reporter who wrote a story linking DeSantis' advocacy for a COVID antibody drug to one of his top donors who is heavily invested in the company that makes the drug.

"I assumed your letter was to notify me that you were issuing a retraction of the partisan smear piece you published last week. Instead, you had the temerity to complain about the deserved blowback that your botched and discredited attempt to concoct a political narrative has received," DeSantis wrote.

"This ploy will not work to divert attention from the fact that the Associated Press published a false narrative that will lead some to decline effective treatment for COVID infections," he added.

Last week, AP journalist Brendan Farrington reported that Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund, has invested $15.9 million in Regeneron Pharmaceutical Inc., the company that manufactures the monoclonal antibody treatment heavily promoted by DeSantis. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin donated $10.75 million to a political committee that supports DeSantis, and Farrington's article implies that DeSantis is promoting Regeneron's drug over COVID-19 vaccines to benefit his top donor.

Pushaw commented for the AP's story, observing that Citadel holds far more shares of Pfizer and Moderna than Regeneron.

Critics were also quick to point out that DeSantis is promoting monoclonal antibody treatments right along with the Biden administration, that Griffin also donated to President Joe Biden's inauguration committee, and that the governor has also strongly endorsed vaccination against COVID-19 as life-saving.

The AP did not accuse Biden of benefitting these very same donors by promoting the vaccine.

After the AP published the story, DeSantis' left-wing critics falsely claimed that he had been downplaying COVID vaccines to benefit his donor.

Pushaw blasted the AP article on Twitter, calling it "cheap political innuendo" and calling out Farrington for shifting blame for the article's headline to his "boss' boss." In a now-deleted tweet, she retweeted the AP story and told her followers to "drag them."

The AP in turn reported Pushaw to Twitter, accusing her of harassing Farrington, and she was suspended for 12 hours.

Veerasingham then wrote to DeSantis asking him to stop Pushaw's "harassing behavior," accusing her of threatening Farrington and putting him in danger by criticizing his reporting.

But DeSantis pulled no punches in his forceful response, rejecting Veerasingham's demands.

"The purpose of the headline and the framing of the story was to smear me by insinuating that Florida's push to expand awareness of and access to monoclonal antibody treatments was done to boost Regeneron's profit, rather than to simply help Floridians in need. Indeed, as the federal government long ago bought the entire stock of Regeneron's COVID monoclonal treatment, it is not even possible as a concept," wrote DeSantis.

"The AP produced zero evidence that Florida's efforts are being undertaken for any reason other than to help Floridians recover from COVID," he continued. "This story is a baseless conspiracy theory."

The governor told the AP that he stands by the work of his staff, including Pushaw.

"That the AP has received vigorous pushback is something that should be expected given the brazenness of your political attack and the fact that your false narrative will cost lives. You cannot recklessly smear your political opponents and then expect to be immune from criticism. This is especially true when the effect of your false narrative jeopardizes the health of those who could otherwise benefit from treatment with monoclonal antibodies," he wrote.

"You succeeded in publishing a misleading, clickbait headline about one of your political opponents, but at the expense of deterring individuals infected with COVID from seeking life-saving treatment, which will cost lives," DeSantis concluded

"Was it worth it?"

Mississippi threatens up to 5 years in jail, $5,000 fines for COVID-19 patients who don't isolate



Mississippi's top health official Friday threatened possible jail time and fines for people diagnosed with COVID-19 who don't isolate, NBC News reported.

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs issued a "COVID-19 isolation order" on Friday, which told people they "must immediately home-isolate on first knowledge of infection with COVID-19."

Any individuals infected with COVID-19 "must remain in the home or other appropriate residential location for 10 days from onset of illness or 10 days from the date of a positive test for those who are asymptomatic."

"The failure or refusal to obey the lawful order of a health officer is, at a minimum, a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 or imprisonment for six months or both," the order states.

Those infected with a life-threatening disease who refuse to "obey the lawful order of a health officer is a felony," punishable with potential fines of up to $5,000 and/or five years in jail, according to the order.

"Persons infected with COVID-19 should limit exposure to household contacts," the order reads. "No visitors should be allowed in the home. Please stay in a specific room away from others in your home. Use a separate bathroom if available."

"A negative test for COVID-19 is not required to end isolation at the end of 10 days, but you must be fever free for at least 24 hours with improvement of other symptoms," the order states.

At Friday's press conference unveiling the new order, state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers noted, "Mississippi... 25,000 cases in the last seven days, but our rate is 843 cases per 100,000 in the last seven days. These numbers are staggering guys."

Mississippi reported 5,048 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, surpassing the previous record of 5,023 cases from the previous Friday. There were 54 coronavirus deaths reported on Friday. As of Wednesday, there were 1,660 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, 457 were in the ICU, and 324 were on ventilators, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Only 36% of people in Mississippi are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, the second least-vaccinated state, trailing only Alabama.

Mississippi also rolled out 40 locations offering monoclonal antibody treatments, which can be used to treat mild to moderate infections when COVID-19 is detected early.

"If you're someone who is vaccine-hesitant and haven't made that jump yet, don't be antibody-hesitant," Dobbs said. "If you get COVID, we don't want to be having the conversation as you're getting wheeled into the ICU, saying, 'Hey Doc, what can I do about it?' Now it's too late."