Crypto News: Natural disasters and hospital supplies

Hello, it's Ike in Boston. Hurricane Helene has killed scores of people and caused damage estimated in the tens of billions of dollars in the southern United States. More on that soon, but first ...

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Hurricane Helene's rampant flooding has killed more than 100 Americans, knocked out power and cell service, and destroyed towns and roads across the South. It also may be the latest storm to threaten the availability of key medical supplies.

Baxter International shut down a plant in North Cove, North Carolina after it took on water and some inventory and raw materials were damaged by Helene. It's Baxter's biggest plant and the largest manufacturer of intravenous solutions — including those used for peritoneal dialysis, a vital procedure for many people with kidney disease — in the country, according to the company.

I've been writing for years about the supply chain for medicines, as well as resulting shortages. Concerns rose last year when a Pfizer North Carolina facility that makes about 8% of all injected drugs used in US hospitals was damaged by a tornado.

IV fluids like those Baxter makes are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. In 2017, Hurricane Maria snarled production of IV fluid bags in Puerto Rico, and Baxter shipped in medicines from other countries.

Erin Fox, who runs the University of Utah's drug information service that tracks medical shortages, said hospitals tend to keep small inventories of IV fluids because they take up space. A bag of saline, used in many common medical procedures, might be as big as a loaf of bread, she said.

"Any time we have any disruption with any of the fluid suppliers, it almost always ends up in a shortage," Fox said. "The supply chain is so fragile."

Adding to the concern is the threat of a dockworkers' strike at key East Coast ports that could further impair hospitals' ability to restock. During previous shortages, IV fluid bags were shipped in from other countries by sea, Fox said.

It's unclear whether Baxter's woes will lead to significant disruptions to patient care. Financial analysts from Wells Fargo said Monday that other manufacturers should be able to pick up the slack.

Still, Fox said, disasters like this raise questions about how prepared the US is. In this case, Baxter sent an email yesterday to customers listing the products made in the facility, pharmacists said. But information about where particular products are made is not always publicly available.

"Are we willing to take that risk?" she said. "We need to understand which products are the most vulnerable." — Ike Swetlitz

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Tens of thousands of people are fleeing or sheltering from a poisonous cloud of chlorine from a chemical plant fire near Atlanta, the Washington Post reported.

Health questions? Have a tip that we should investigate? Contact us at AskPrognosis@bloomberg.net.

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