A tornado that tore through 40 miles of North Carolina at 150mph has destroyed a Pfizer plant – causing long-term drug shortages, experts warn.
The main Pfizer facility in Rocky Mount was destroyed Wednesday, with its roof partially collapsed after a powerful weather system hit the region.
According to officials, around 50,000 medicine pallets were damaged. The destruction threatens the production of anesthetics and other sterile injectables.
The plant is one of the largest in the world and supplies 25 percent of all sterile injections used in U.S. hospitals.
That will “likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to another site or rebuild,” Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health, told CBS News.
A massive EF-3 tornado destroyed a Pfizer plant in North Carolina on Wednesday that is expected to lead to long-term drug shortages.
The tornado originated near Nashville, North Carolina around 12:35 p.m. and moved northeast through the Rocky Mountains, about 60 miles east of Raleigh.
The tornado originated near Nashville, North Carolina around 12:35 p.m. and moved northeast through the Rocky Mountains, about 60 miles east of Raleigh, where it destroyed a Pfizer facility.
The tornado originated near Nashville, North Carolina around 12:35 p.m. and moved northeast through the Rocky Mountains, about 60 miles east of Raleigh, where it destroyed the Pfizer facility.
It ran out of steam 40 miles from Scotland Neck.
The pharmaceutical giant said in a statement that all employees were safely evacuated and there were no reports of serious injuries at the plant.
A large amount of drugs stored at the plant were dumped during the tornado, according to Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.
“I received reports of 50,000 pallets of medications that were scattered throughout the facility and damaged by rain and wind,” the official said, according to CBS News.
Pfizer said the 250-acre site with 1.4 million square feet of manufacturing space is ‘one of the largest sterile injectable facilities in the world’.
About 400 million units leave the site annually.
It manufactures vials, syringes, IV bags and bottles of anesthesia, analgesia, therapeutics, anti-infectives and neuromuscular blockers.
“We are evaluating the situation to determine the impact on production,” the company said.
The loss threatened the production of a large number of drug lines, including anesthesia and other sterile injections, that supply the nation’s hospitals.
The plant seen before the demolition also produced vials, syringes, IV bags and bottles for anesthesia, analgesia, therapeutics, anti-infectives and neuromuscular blockers.
‘Our thoughts are with our colleagues, our patients and the community as we rebuild from this weather event.’
Pfizer tweeted on Wednesday: ‘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 event.’
Officials in the two counties said 16 people were injured – including two with life-threatening injuries – and 89 buildings were damaged.
Homes lost their roofs and downed power lines in Nash County, North Carolina.
The tornado was rated an EF-3 on the improved Fujita scale that measures wind speed. An EF-3 carries winds of 165 mph. The scale goes up to EF-5. The tornado that leveled Joplin, Missouri, was classified as an EF-5 storm.
Officials in the two counties say 16 people were injured and 89 buildings were damaged
Homes lost their roofs and downed power lines in Nash County, North Carolina
Videos posted on social media and shared by locals show the Nash County, North Carolina, twister churning and debris being kicked up in the area.
‘I never want to see another one like this again, because it was blacked out from the sunlight and this storm probably lasted less than a minute – and you can see what happened,’ Dortches Mayor Jackie Vick told WITN. Vic told WITN.
‘It’s devastating, but the bottom line is as far as we’ve heard, there’s been no casualties, some bumps and scrapes and that sort of thing, but no casualties, so the rest we can deal with. .’
The storm closed roads along I-95 in North Carolina as trees fell during the tornado.
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