Demand soars for monoclonal antibody treatments in states with low vaccination rates

Biden’s new state-based distribution plan sparks backlash from some officials

Demand has been soaring for monoclonal antibodies – a treatment to lessen the severity of Covid-19 symptoms – especially among states with larger populations of vaccine-hesitant Americans, as the US continues to struggle with the highly contagious Delta variant in regions with lagging vaccination rates.

The demand for the treatment increased twentyfold in recent weeks because of the sharp rise in new cases accelerated by the Delta variant and lagging vaccination rates, and because of increased awareness of the treatment. But the distribution has, so far, been unequal.