Greg Abbott on Thursday will hold a news conference to discuss the distribution of bamlanivimab, the first antibody drug to help the immune system fight COVID-19, in Texas. The governor is expected to speak at 1 p.m. in Lubbock, alongside Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, and University of Texas System Executive Vice Chancellor of Health Affairs John Zerwas. A study of it in hospitalized patients was stopped when independent monitors saw the drug did not seem to be helping in that situation. Government treatment guidelines also back using dexamethasone and other steroids for certain severely ill, hospitalized patients. Abbott’s update comes as Texas accelerates toward 8,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, which hasn’t been seen since the summer outbreak.