A natural disaster shook North Carolina on Wednesday, with an EF-3 tornado, one of the strongest ever reported in the Tar Heel State, ripping apart a massive Pfizer manufacturing facility in Rocky Mount. The devastation left 50,000 pallets of medicine, critical to healthcare nationwide, damaged and strewn across the factory.
The Pfizer facility, one of the largest sterile injectable facilities globally, produces nearly 30% of all sterile injectables used in U.S. hospitals. This broad portfolio ranges from anesthesia and therapeutics to anti-infectives and neuromuscular blockers. According to Pfizer, the output from this single site reaches “more than 400 million units leaving the Rocky Mount site annually,” an incredible number that underscores the widespread impact of this calamity.
BREAKING: A #Tornado Has Hit A @pfizer Manufacturing Plant In #RockyMount #NorthCarolina pic.twitter.com/QQCXV9gxHw
— John Basham (@JohnBasham) July 19, 2023
Pfizer confirmed the calamity in a statement, noting, “We can confirm that the Pfizer Rocky Mount facility was damaged by the tornado.” The company also said it was presently gauging the extent of the disruption to production. However, in a testament to the company’s safety protocols, the employees were safely evacuated.
But the implications of the damage reach beyond the factory’s walls. Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone, in acknowledging the havoc, painted a picture of destruction not confined to Pfizer alone. He reported extensive tornado damage to vegetation and homes throughout the county.
The National Weather Service revealed that the destructive tornado formed east of Raleigh and swept across communities along I-95, with winds estimated to be at least 150 mph. This storm led to significant debris covering roadways, including a five-mile stretch of I-95 that had to be shut down for hours. The Sheriff’s office noted some injuries but thankfully reported no fatalities.
During the storm’s height, power outages affected at least 1,500 homes in Nash and Edgecombe counties, necessitating local resources to establish a shelter for storm victims. These circumstances bring into sharp relief the broader impact on the local community, highlighting the challenging task for Pfizer and local authorities in restoring normalcy.
Ultimately, the disaster is a stark reminder of nature’s unpredictable fury and its potential to disrupt even the most secure and significant human endeavors. Pfizer’s Rocky Mount facility is a titan in sterile injectable manufacturing, and its role in the healthcare system cannot be understated. As such, a prompt and efficient response will be essential to avoid significant disruptions to the healthcare sector.
