AUSTIN – The Texas Division of Emergency Management plan to deploy additional medical personnel and launch more COVID-19 antibody infusion centers across the state over the next week, according to Governor Greg Abbott.
“Front-line health care workers across our state are working tirelessly to keep Texans healthy and safe,” said Governor Abbott. “The substantial increase of infusion centers will reduce hospitalizations, and the added medical personnel will help treat COVID-19 patients already in hospitals. Hospitalizations can also be prevented by Texans getting the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The Governor said about 2,700 medical personnel will be called up by the end of this week to help hospitals care for the increasing number of COVID-19 patients across Texas. DSHS is expected increase that number to at least 5,500 by the end of next week. This operation follows the Governor’s directive that DSHS utilize staffing agencies to provide out-of-state medical personnel to Texas health care facilities to mitigate the surge of COVID-19 cases in Texas.
The additional deployment of personnel will be fully funded by the state through September 30.
According to the Governor’s Office, TDEM will launch two new regional infusion centers in Beaumont and Odessa by next week. DSHS opened COVID-19 antibody infusion centers in Fort Worth and Laredo on Friday morning. These infusion centers are in addition to several others that launched across the state last week.
The infusion centers are equipped with Regeneron’s monoclonal antibodies, which the Governor said will treat COVID-19 patients at no cost. The therapeutic drugs are used to prevent a patient’s condition from worsening and requiring hospitalization. The centers are meant to help increase bed capacity in hospitals so that resources are available for the most ill patients.
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