"We can confirm that the Pfizer Rocky Mount facility was damaged by the tornado," Pfizer said in a statement. "We are assessing the situation to determine the impact on production." Pfizer is the largest employer in Nash County, where the plant is located. The plant is approximately 50 miles northeast of Raleigh, covers 250 acres, and employs more than 2,000 people.

An AP report estimated that 50,000 pallets of medicine were strewn across the facility and damaged by rain and wind. The AP quoted Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health, that the damage "will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds."

The Raleigh News and Observer reported that Vizient, a Texas-based health care consulting firm, is working with Pfizer to assess the damage at the plant. "The significant level of damage that appears to have occurred at the facility is likely to be especially problematic for the supply chain because of the complexity of manufacturing processes and quality assurance testing requirements for sterile injectables," Mittal Sutaria, a senior vice president at Vizient, told the News and Observer. "Sutaria said the threat of supply chain strain was greater given Pfizer's sizable market share and because many of the drugs produced at the Rocky Mount facility are known to already be in shortage."

An unhealthy pipeline

Drug shortages have been an ongoing issue in the U.S, with some sources saying the shortages are nearing an all-time high in the U.S. A recent story in the New York Times reported that thousands of patients are facing delays in getting treatments for cancer and other serious diseases. "Hundreds of drugs are on the list of medications in short supply in the United States, as officials grapple with an opaque and sometimes interrupted supply chain, quality and financial issues that are leading to manufacturing shutdowns," the Times report said.

Although supply chain issues were felt acutely in a range of industries during the COVID-19 pandemic, public officials were talking about drug shortages even before the pandemic. A 2019 report by the U.S. Senate noted that drug shortages were not a new problem.

"Shortages of critical medications continue to rise—including drugs used in hospital emergency rooms and to treat cancer, prescription medications, and even common over-the-counter treatments like children's cold and flu medicine," the Senate report said. "These shortages have cascading effects on patient care, causing delays in treatment, increasing the risk of medication errors, and requiring the use of less effective alternative treatments. Hospitals have also experienced increased costs, medication waste, and limited staffing capacity to address and remedy shortages."

Spinning up a conspiracy theory

As with so many events, the damage from the tornado quickly spawned its own conspiracy theory: that the Pfizer plant had housed COVID-19 vaccines. A Twitter user posted video of the damage and commented: "God's work? A Pfizer Warehouse Full of Covid Vaccines was just DESTROYED BY A TORNADO…"

However, media sources quoted a Pfizer official as denying the claim. "A spokesperson told Newsweek that the Rocky Mount site 'did not manufacture or store any product related to our COVID-19 vaccine,'" a Newsweek report said.

Related: 'Worst in 30 years': Oncologists urge Congress to fix the cancer drug shortages

Also controversial but perhaps better established is the link between global warming and dangers to human health. A 2022 report by Deloitte noted that the extreme heat and severe weather events that accompany global warming will continue to have a significant impact on health care delivery.

"The changes to the physical environment are expected to increase the total cost of health care services and delivery borne by the economy," the report said. "Air pollution and climate change already generate more than $800 billion in health costs for the United States each year, according to the National Resources Defense Council. These changes likewise can make it more expensive for health care organizations to operate, due to damaged infrastructure, supply-chain disruptions, and the increased complexity of care."

Numerous media reports say extreme heat in the U.S., Europe, and Asia are resulting in health problems and even death. "The heat waves pose an immediate risk to public health and economic output, and signal that climate change impacts are escalating faster than expected in some parts of the globe," wrote Andrew Freedman for Axios. "The heat waves come as global average surface temperatures have hit all-time highs during July, which scientists have said are likely the highest levels in at least 125,000 years."