In this photo provided by Louie Lopez, sick people lie on the floor in a medical facility in Jacksonville, Fla., on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Lopez took the photo while waiting more than 2.5 hours to get antibody treatment at a facility run by the state. While he waited, he watched the room fill up with extremely sick patients. (Louie Lopez via AP)
People infected with COVID-19 were captured in a photo this week lying on the floor in pain while waiting for antibody infusions at a treatment site set up inside the library in Jacksonville, Florida.
The image has become a vivid illustration of the huge demand for the once-neglected COVID-19 drugs in the states hit hardest by a summer surge of infections being driven by the highly contagious delta variant.
“They were moaning and obviously in a lot of pain. They were miserable,” said Louie Lopez, who shot the photograph as he waited for more than two hours to receive the treatment.
Antibody treatments remain one of a handful of therapies that can blunt the worst effects of COVID-19, and they are the only option available to people with mild-to-moderate cases who aren’t yet in the hospital.
They have risen in demand in states seeing a spike in infections, including Florida, Louisiana and Texas, where hospitalizations among the unvaccinated are overwhelming the health care system.