The North Carolina plant of vaccine giant Pfizer was destroyed by a tornado on Wednesday. A total of 16 people in the region were injured by the high winds – at least 89 buildings were destroyed or severely damaged.
According to the Nash County Sheriff, the most severe damage was to Pfizer’s warehouses. At least 50,000 pallets of drugs were reportedly scattered throughout the facility, damaged or destroyed by rain and wind.
One employee says that employees escaped serious damage because they rushed to shelters when they learned of the approaching storm. He also testified that lights began to flicker in the building and that there was a loud noise for 60 to 90 seconds, similar to the sound of a bomb exploding.
Pfizer building destroyed by a tornado in North Carolina. 50,000 pallets of medicines destroyed.
Karma is a bitch.
pic.twitter.com/Ubh5DmrYbQ— Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis) July 19, 2023
The North Carolina facility is one of the largest of its kind in the world and produces about 25 percent of the sterile injectable products used in the United States – about 400 million units are exported from the plant annually.
Pfizer also makes vials, syringes, IV bags and bottles for anesthesia, analgesia, therapy, anti-infectives and neuromuscular blockers at the site.
“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 said of the incident.
There is some gloating on social media. Many believe that it is “karma” that a pharmaceutical company that allegedly caused great harm to the population and profited from injecting people with experimental vaccines should now be hit by the weather in this way.
So far, there have been no reports of serious injuries or deaths from the tornado, although a number of people were reportedly left homeless when their homes were destroyed.
