![]() ![]() When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, it knocked out power at factories that make saline bags, causing widespread problems for hospitals. Photos: Hurricane Fiona wipes out power across Puerto Rico - The Washington Post The scene after Hurricane Fiona battered Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic By Kainaz Amaria and. Natural disasters have caused drug shortages in the past. Lawmakers and the White House are concerned, but have not enacted any policy changes recently. “This is exactly why we need better transparency on where our drug products are made,” said Stephen Schondelmeyer, a professor at the University of Minnesota who studies the pharmaceutical industry.īasic medicines including cancer drugs, antibiotics, and ADHD treatments have been running out of stock at pharmacies and hospitals across the US over the past year, endangering lives. Lack of TransparencyĮxperts were concerned about how the damage to Pfizer’s plant might affect the availability of medicines, but said it’s too early to know given uncertainty about the damage and which products are made at the facility. The disaster struck as the US was facing a 9-year-high of drug shortages - 309 medicines are in short supply, including 177 sterile injectables, according to Erin Fox, who runs the University of Utah’s drug information service. Fresenius SE, based in Germany, and Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc, based in London, are the second and third biggest suppliers, respectively. Pfizer products accounted for 19% of the country’s supply for the first five months of this year. Pfizer is the largest producer of generic injectable drugs for the US, according to IQVIA, which tracks sales data. Drug companies are not required to publicly disclose what exact medications they make at any given facility, making it hard for hospitals or other medical providers to gauge the impact of manufacturing disruptions. Neither Pfizer nor the FDA provided a list when asked. The storm could cost the island, which is already in the midst of an 11-year recession, up to $72 billion.It is not publicly known which drugs Pfizer manufactures at the facility. Hurricane Maria tore through the middle of Puerto Rico early Wednesday with 150 mph sustained winds, splintering homes and crippling the island nation of 3.4 million. “Otherwise, there will be a massive exodus to the United States."Īt least 16 people were killed by the hurricane in Puerto Rico, according to CNN. “We need something tangible, a bill that actually answers to our need right now,” said Rossello. ![]() Rossello warned, however, of the possibility of a mass exodus from the island if the situation escalated. “We want to make sure we recognize that a lot of resources are coming in. Ricardo Rosello said Wednesday, according to CNN. “We are getting help from the federal government, but this is an unprecedented set of circumstances,” Puerto Rico Gov. It arrived as a Category 1 storm, at a time when Puerto. The organization also announced Tuesday that more federal aid was being sent to Puerto Rico. Even before Hurricane Fiona made landfall in Puerto Rico, on September 18th, it managed to knock out the island’s fragile electrical grid. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said 10,000 people had been deployed to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in order to help recovery and search and rescue missions. Much of the island could be without power for up to three months, experts estimated. Only 21 of the island’s 69 hospitals had any power or fuel Wednesday, CBS News reported. Hurricane Fiona was churning north on Monday night after bringing torrential rain and powerful winds to the Dominican Republic and a total power outage in neighboring Puerto Rico, killing at least. ![]() Some gathered water from nearby streams to sustain them until they could access aid trucks. Pictures captured residents hauling containers to be filled with water from trucks and attempting to clean themselves with the bottled water. Roughly 97 percent of the island's 3.4 million people are will without power, while half still don't have access to running water. ![]() New photos from the island have shown the extent of the catastrophic damage, with homes leveled, trees littering the landscape and debris covering virtually every surface. ReutersĪ week after Hurricane Maria forged a warpath through Puerto Rico, the extent of the devastation is still being surveyed. The aftermath in Puerto Rico has become a man-made disaster, with a death toll threatening to eclipse Katrina’s. A man carries water through Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Sep. Hurricane Maria was a natural catastrophe. ![]()
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