Texas gubernatorial hopeful Allen West tweets about his COVID-19 hospitalization
CBSN
Texas GOP candidate for governor Allen West, hospitalized with COVID-19, has been tweeting criticism of vaccine mandates and the government's response to the pandemic, as he recovers in the hospital.
West, who is not vaccinated, has been undergoing monoclonal antibody therapy, as well as taking hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin, which are not federally authorized treatments for COVID-19. West's vaccinated wife also contracted COVID-19, but was she was released from the hospital, according to West's Twitter account.
He tweeted Sunday that his experience with COVID-19 made him "even more dedicated to fighting against vaccine mandates," and called the COVID-19 vaccine "dangerous," even though studies show the opposite — that the vaccine is safe and those who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are far less likely to be hospitalized or die than the unvaccinated. West also tweeted that the U.S. shouldn't be "enriching the pockets of Big Pharma," although he touted a monoclonal antibody infusion therapy treatment he took that is made by pharmaceutical company Regeneron. Regeneron's cocktail costs the U.S. $2,100 per dose. Pfizer's vaccine, the most expensive of the three used domestically, costs the U.S. $19.50/dose.
