TDPel Special Edition

Governor Ron Desantis Features Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Successes in West Palm Beach

- By Ngozi Aima

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.

– Today, Governor Ron Desantis joined monoclonal antibody treatment recipients in Palm Beach County to discuss the therapy. Today, the state of Florida will exceed more than 45,000 monoclonal antibody treatments administer­ed to patients statewide at the 21 state treatment sites.

Becker, Pauline

a 90-year-old resident of Palm City, said, “I recommend everyone take advantage of it. I was diagnosed with COVID in December, and after a

couple days went to the hospital. I had a very, very good doctor who immediatel­y gave me the treatment. I was to receive the treatment for five days, and after the second day, I felt remarkably better. I’m here at 90, a borderline diabetic and I have asthma. The monoclonal antibody treatment definitely saved my life.”

who was diagnosed with COVID this summer, said, “When I was diagnosed with COVID I was shocked, because I am a careful person and have been fully vaccinated since February. I have allergy induced asthma, so my breathing was greatly affected and weak when I got sick. My husband and I didn’t realize that Regeneron was available at the Cleveland Clinic in Stuart. I got set up with my IV infusion there and I am very thankful to have received the treatment. I can’t thank Governor Desantis enough for getting the word out because this treatment is going to save lives.”

a Wellington resident who contracted COVID within his household, said, “I came in contact with a COVID positive patient and started to experience symptoms. A doctor recommende­d I receive the treatment. I decided to take the Regeneron to lessen the severity of effects, and to reduce the length due to my past medical history. My symptoms, including body aches and headaches, were completely gone come 36 to 48 hours after the treatment. I’d definitely recommend the treatment to anybody. I’m very happy that it is available throughout Palm Beach County and the state.” State of Florida monoclonal antibody sites are located at:

Fellowship Church

16916 Northwest U.S. Highway 441 High Springs, Florida 32643

Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Bay County Fairground­s

2230 East 15th Street

Panama City, Florida 32405

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Kiwanis Island Park

951 Kiwanis Island Park Road

Merritt Island, Florida 32952

Laura Warren, Noel, Bay County Brevard County Brit Alachua County

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

C.B. Smith Park

900 North Flamingo Road

Pembroke Pines, Florida 33028 Hours: 7 days a week; 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Broward County Charlotte County

Tringali Community Center

3460 North Access Road

Englewood, Florida 34224

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Old Dollar General

1500 Lake Trafford Road

Immokalee, Florida 34142

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Jacksonvil­le Public Library

304 North Main Street

Jacksonvil­le, Florida 32202

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Kings Forest Park

8008 East Chelsea Street

Tampa, Florida 33610

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Old Bonita Springs Library

26876 Pine Avenue

Bonita Springs, Florida 34135

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Vacant Sears

1500 Apalachee Parkway Tallahasse­e, Florida 32301

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Manatee Memorial Hospital Complex 206 2nd Street East

Bradenton, Florida 34208

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Tropical Park

7900 Southwest 40 Street

Miami, Florida 33155

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Northwest Florida Fairground­s

1958 Lewis Turner Boulevard

Fort Walton Beach, Florida 32547 Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Camping World Stadium

1 Citrus Bowl Place

Orlando, Florida 32805

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. –

Collier County Duval County Hillsborou­gh County Lee County Leon County Manatee County Miami-dade County Okaloosa County Orange County Palm Beach County

5:00 p.m.

West Gate Park

3691 Oswego Avenue

West Palm Beach, Florida 33409 Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Fasano Center

11611 Denton Avenue

Hudson, Florida 34667

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m.

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church 409 South Old Coachman Road Clearwater, Florida 33765

Hours: Monday – Saturday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Church at the Mall

1010 East Memorial Boulevard Lakeland, Florida 33801

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Havert L. Fenn Center

2000 Virginia Avenue

Fort Pierce, Florida 34982

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Barnstorm Theater

2720 Brownwood Boulevard

The Villages, Florida 32163

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Ormond Beach Senior Center

351 Andrews Street

Ormond Beach, Florida 32174

Hours: 7 days a week, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. To find locations to receive monoclonal antibody treatments around the entire state, please visit floridahea­lthcovid19.gov.

Pasco County Pinellas County Polk County St. Lucie County Sumter County Volusia County

2021 / 14:04 pm (CNA). The bishop of Springfiel­d in Illinois is requesting that parishione­rs wear masks to Mass in compliance with a recent state public health order, but will not require COVID-19 vaccinatio­ns.while noting that “our parishes are asked to follow the new mask mandate in indoor public places,” Bishop Thomas Paprocki added that “no one is to be excluded from attending Mass for not wearing a face covering.” He made the announceme­nt in an Aug. 30 message to his diocese on state mask and vaccine mandates. “The obligation to attend Holy Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation is paramount since eternal life is the most important considerat­ion,” he said, emphasizin­g against turning people away from Mass for not wearing masks.the bishop also noted that “some people may be excused from attending Mass for not wearing a face covering for medical reasons.”illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) on Aug. 30 issued an indoor mask mandate for all people ages two and older, who are “able to medically tolerate a face covering.” He also required health care workers, college students, and school teachers and staff to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.paprocki on Monday said that the parishes in his diocese “will also continue other safety measures” to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The mask mandate, he said, would not apply to priests, deacons, and lectors while they are celebratin­g Mass, as “the sanctuary of the church is not a public place.” Regarding reception of COVID-19 vaccines, the bishop stressed that “accine participat­ion must be voluntary and cannot be forced.” He is not requiring diocesan employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, nor is he requiring attendees at Mass to have proof of vaccinatio­n.although “the Church promotes vaccinatio­n as morally acceptable and urges cooperatio­n with public health authoritie­s in promoting the common good,” he said, a person’s health and moral conscience must be respected. He cited the December 2020 note of the Vatican’s Congregati­on for the

Doctrine of the Faith, which recognized the conscienti­ous refusal to receive a COVID-19 vaccine tested or produced with cell lines derived from elective abortions. “While we encourage vaccinatio­n, we cannot and will not force vaccinatio­n as a condition of employment or the freedom of the faithful to worship in our parishes,” said Paprocki. Bishop Paprocki’s declaratio­n stands in contrast to the Archdioces­e of Chicago’s recent requiremen­t that all archdioces­an employees, including clergy, receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The Archdioces­e of Chicago stated only medical exemptions will be given in such cases.although the vaccine will not be mandatory, Paprocki added that it is “imperative” that those who do not get vaccinated “recognize their moral duty to take other measures to protect others from harm.”“whether or not one is concerned about personal risks associated with COVID, each person has a moral duty to act responsibl­y out of concern for his or her neighbor by diligently following other safety measures,” he said. His letter also touched on the topic of vaccine exemptions for “sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.”many bishops and archbishop­s have warned their priests to not sign letters for Catholics who refuse to comply with a vaccine mandate out of conscience.“moral objections of conscience should be respected, but should not require a letter from a priest or other clergyman, since the objection is based on the person’s individual personal conscience, not some specific tenet of the Catholic faith,” Paprocki said. “It is not even apparent what any such letter from a priest could helpfully say, beyond restating what I have here recounted, which is that the Catholic Church teaches that some persons may have conscienti­ous objections to the taking of the COVID vaccines, and that these conscienti­ous conviction­s ought to be respected,” said Paprocki. Catholics, explained Paprocki, “are not bound to refuse the vaccine as a form of immoral cooperatio­n with abortion.” All three COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the United States have some connection with cell lines derived from elective abortions decades prior. Vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna used the cell lines in testing, while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine used the cell lines in production and testing.the Vatican’s Congregati­on for the Doctrine of the Faith said that use of COVID-19 vaccines with such ethically problemati­c connection­s is morally permissibl­e when no other ethical option is available, due to the gravity of the pandemic.paprocki added that “each Catholic must make his or her own decision, in light of each person’s particular situation and moral responsibi­lities.” “The Catholic Church recognizes that some Catholics will be bound in conscience to refuse the vaccine,” he said.

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