“I was in bed; I was feeling so badly, like the longest flu I ever had in my life,” said Ruppert, 54, of Gainesville. “I was, like, whatever, give me whatever.”

Ruppert and her husband, Michael, 61, who also contracted covid-19, are among thousands of people in the U.S. who in recent weeks have rushed to receive infusions of the powerful antibody cocktails shown to reduce hospitalizations by 70% when given promptly to high-risk patients.

The rush has been fueled in no small part by governors in Southern states, where vaccinations lag and hospitalizations are soaring with delta-variant infections. Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas are among leaders touting the antibody treatments even as they downplay vaccination and other measures that health officials say can prevent illness in the first place.

Together, they have opened dozens of state-sponsored sites where monoclonal antibody therapy is offered, holding regular news conferences to endorse the potentially lifesaving benefits, while continuing to resist wider public health measures such as mask mandates and vaccine passports.