'These people were in bad, bad shape': Picture of people at Florida monoclonal antibody treatment site goes viral

I was bad, very bad shape. Light headed, dizzy, shortened breath. When I spoke to Fleming island resident Toma Dean. It was clear she was still very sick. They just 24 hours before our conversation. This was Dean, face down on the floor of the downtown public library wearing a yellow dress. Another sick woman lying down right behind her. Dean had just left baptist hospital where an E. R. Doctor advised her to get the monoclonal antibody treatment With her 16 year old son by her side and not a wheelchair in sight. Dean 1st sat then laid on the floor. I was so sick. It didn't matter. I just thought I could roll. I just wanted to get to therapy because I thought I'm either going to die. His hospitalized die where I'm going to make it through those doors. Dean said the staff at the library was excellent and they scrambled to get wheelchairs. The treatment itself was quick and Dean claims to feel better. Already. Tell me for people who don't believe Covid is real or that they don't want to get a vaccine. What do you have to say to them now? Having gone through almost the worst of Covid. I know you obviously the worst is death. But you have a pretty bad case. Yes. Um, it is real good. And if you have it, I advise you to go get this therapy, Go take advantage of resources out there, get vaccinated. It may not be the first thing that we want to do, but it's better than the end result

The scene at the Jacksonville, Florida, main public library was haunting, Louis Lopez recalled. As he waited for a COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment, he saw people so sick they couldn't even stand."These people were in bad, bad shape," he said. His experience Wednesday at the library, set up by the state as a location for treatment, has made him even more grateful he's fully vaccinated."I lost two cousins to COVID in San Diego," he told CNN in an interview. "If I was unvaccinated there's no doubt in my mind it would have taken me out."Lopez has been sick with COVID-19 for well over a week with symptoms including swollen glands and a runny nose. When a persistent migraine worsened, he signed up for an appointment to get a monoclonal antibody treatment that he and many other Floridians have been hearing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tout in recent days."Don't wait till you need to be hospitalized," DeSantis said on Wednesday while visiting a facility in West Palm Beach. "Do it early, go in and people do good and obviously keep out of the hospital, but it resolves the symptoms for a lot of people very quickly to where they feel a lot better and they maybe they were not at a hospital-level initially, but they felt symptoms, this has a great opportunity to really resolve it and I think resolve it in a good fashion."Lopez said that he arrived at the library just before his noon appointment, and spent more than two hours with dozens of others waiting to get the treatment."As time went on, more people started showing up. And it became evident that they were taking walk-ins and appointments. Some of the people that were coming in were really sick," Lopez told CNN on Thursday.Awaiting treatment at the libraryOne woman in line was so sick that she couldn't even stand, Lopez said. Because she couldn't stand, he said she crawled over to the wall. Staff members provided some patients with paper gowns because it was cold. One person, Lopez said, was given a wheelchair because they couldn't move."It really made it really clear and the severity of it," Lopez said. "Not only that, but the seriousness of it."Libraries are normally places of solitude and silence. On Wednesday, however, Lopez described a persistent sound of crying and pained moans from some of those seeking treatment."That's when I actually thought, 'This thing, when I read that this thing kills,'" he said. "If you die because of COVID, not only are you going to be alone, you're going to be in a lot of pain. It really illustrated that for me."His wife Suzanne shared a photo on Reddit that he took while in line. Seeing and hearing about the scene at the library pushed things over the edge for her, saying the entire ordeal has been stressful."It doesn't have to be like that," she said. "People don't have to be that sick."Lopez said that he now only has a headache after receiving the monoclonal antibody treatment, and credited the staff administering the treatments."They were doing their very best with what they had at the moment. You could tell everything was new. It was a new situation. Everything's chaotic. But they were absolutely fabulous, and I tip my hat off to them," he said.The location in Jacksonville is one of eight state-sponsored sites in Florida.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —

The scene at the Jacksonville, Florida, main public library was haunting, Louis Lopez recalled. As he waited for a COVID-19 , he saw people so sick they couldn't even stand.

"These people were in bad, bad shape," he said. His experience Wednesday at the library, set up by the state as a location for treatment, has made him even more grateful he's .

"I lost two cousins to COVID in San Diego," he told CNN in an interview. "If I was unvaccinated there's no doubt in my mind it would have taken me out."

Lopez has been sick with COVID-19 for well over a week with symptoms including swollen glands and a runny nose. When a persistent migraine worsened, he signed up for an appointment to get a monoclonal antibody treatment that he and many other Floridians have been hearing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tout in recent days.

"Don't wait till you need to be hospitalized," DeSantis while visiting a facility in West Palm Beach. "Do it early, go in and people do good and obviously keep out of the hospital, but it resolves the symptoms for a lot of people very quickly to where they feel a lot better and they maybe they were not at a hospital-level initially, but they felt symptoms, this has a great opportunity to really resolve it and I think resolve it in a good fashion."

Lopez said that he arrived at the library just before his noon appointment, and spent more than two hours with dozens of others waiting to get the treatment.

"As time went on, more people started showing up. And it became evident that they were taking walk-ins and appointments. Some of the people that were coming in were really sick," Lopez told CNN on Thursday.

Awaiting treatment at the library

One woman in line was so sick that she couldn't even stand, Lopez said. Because she couldn't stand, he said she crawled over to the wall. Staff members provided some patients with paper gowns because it was cold. One person, Lopez said, was given a wheelchair because they couldn't move.

"It really made it really clear and the severity of it," Lopez said. "Not only that, but the seriousness of it."

Libraries are normally places of solitude and silence. On Wednesday, however, Lopez described a persistent sound of crying and pained moans from some of those seeking treatment.

"That's when I actually thought, 'This thing, when I read that this thing kills,'" he said. "If you die because of COVID, not only are you going to be alone, you're going to be in a lot of pain. It really illustrated that for me."

His wife Suzanne shared a photo on Reddit that he took while in line. Seeing and hearing about the scene at the library pushed things over the edge for her, saying the entire ordeal has been stressful.

"It doesn't have to be like that," she said. "People don't have to be that sick."

Lopez said that he now only has a headache after receiving the monoclonal antibody treatment, and credited the staff administering the treatments.

"They were doing their very best with what they had at the moment. You could tell everything was new. It was a new situation. Everything's chaotic. But they were absolutely fabulous, and I tip my hat off to them," he said.

The location in Jacksonville is one of sites in Florida.

��vlog