Tornado damages Pfizer plant in North Carolina, will “likely lead to long-term shortages” of medicine

An important Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina was severely damaged on Wednesday after a powerful tornado ripped through the area, threatening production lines that normally provide huge amounts of medicine to U.S. hospitals. Meanwhile, torrential rain flooded parts of Kentucky and communities from California to South Florida endured scorching heat that at times reached record-high temperatures.

Pfizer confirmed the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.

Parts of roofs were ripped open at the Pfizer plant in Rocky Mount, which is a complex composed of several massive buildings. The plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.

“I’ve got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind,” Stone said.

The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs as well as nearly 25% of all sterile injectable medications used in U.S. hospitals, Pfizer said on its website. Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health, said the damage “will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds.”

“We are assessing the situation to determine the impact on production. Our thoughts are with our colleagues, our patients, and the community as we rebuild from this weather incident,” Pfizer tweeted on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service said in a tweet that the damage in North Carolina was consistent with an EF3 tornado with wind speeds up to 150 mph.

The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, where part of Rocky Mount is located, said on Facebook that they had reports of three people injured in the tornado, and that two of them had life-threatening injuries.

A preliminary report from neighboring Nash County said 13 people were injured and 89 structures were damaged, WRAL-TV reported.

Three homes owned by Brian Varnell and his family members in the nearby Dortches area were damaged. He told the news outlet he is thankful they are all alive. His sister and her children hid in their home’s laundry room.

“They got where they needed to be within the house and it all worked out for the best,” Varnell said near a home that was missing exterior walls and a large chunk of the roof.

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About the Author: Patriotman

Patriotman currently ekes out a survivalist lifestyle in a suburban northeastern state as best as he can. He has varied experience in political science, public policy, biological sciences, and higher education. Proudly Catholic and an Eagle Scout, he has no military experience and thus offers a relatable perspective for the average suburban prepper who is preparing for troubled times on the horizon with less than ideal teams and in less than ideal locations. Brushbeater Store Page: http://bit.ly/BrushbeaterStore

2 Comments

  1. Truth in Tension July 20, 2023 at 15:28

    Some years ago Pfizer’s business model changed from producing medicine to manufacturing and distribution of MRNA electro magnetic bioweapons. Trusting Pfizer’s products is similar to trusting China Joe Biden. Who is $ John Galt?

  2. James Carpenter aka "Felix" July 20, 2023 at 19:52

    Collapses don’t all necessarily happen in an instant. For instance… we are looking at, in real time, the collapse of America’s pharmaceutical pipeline to a hospital or pharmacy near you. This isn’t just an “isolated” plant, see dependency on China for antibiotic drugs and/or their precursors.
    Like food processing plants, refineries, assured distribution of “little things” like DEF… the fragility and number of possible breaking points become impossible not to see.
    What matters, to a degree, is timing. Without the powers of Nostradamus, each and every one should assume catastrophic, domino-effect collapse could happen ten years from now. Or ten hours from now.
    Are you prepped for the ten year horizon? … the ten hour one?

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