PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2017-12-29 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Did Hurricane Maria Cause an IV Bag Shortage Across the United States? (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • On 28 December 2017, a tweet from a man in California focused attention on one of less-reported aftereffects of the damage caused by the massive Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico on 20 September 2017. Ben Boyer's post criticized the Trump administration's response to the disaster while describing a recent hospital visit: This is true. Hospitals in both Puerto Rico and the mainland United States have reported shortages of intravenous fluids and bags since Maria tore through the island — where several medical manufacturing plants are located — in September 2017. According to a Food and Drug Administration analysis released in November 2017, medical manufacturing is a significant part of the island's economy: Among the manufacturers affected was Baxter International, the largest IV bag supplier in the United States; the company says on its website that it ships more than a million units of IV solutions a day. The FDA responded by saying that Baxter and other companies to get priority access to the island territory's electrical grid. On 28 December 2017, the FDA sent us the following statement: Baxter sent us a statement confirming that all of its facilities in the territory are connected to the local electrical grid, with backup diesel generators on tap in case of power outages. The company said it expects to return to more normal supply levels for products made in Puerto Rico in the coming weeks. The company did clarify, however, that its Puerto Rican operations did not include manufacture of saline IV solutions, and that production of those products continues to run normally. Baxter added: The FDA said in a follow-up statement released on 5 January 2018: The number of deaths caused by the hurricane remains unclear. Although Puerto Rican authorities initially reported that around 50 people had been killed in the territory as a result of Maria, several accounts have surfaced contradicting that estimate. In early December 2017, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló ordered a recount of the death toll. He said in a statement: Boyer told us via email that his wife was receiving the treatment as part of her ongoing care for brain cancer; she was first diagnosed in 2009, and her tumor (which is inoperable) became aggressive again in 2015. At the time of his post, he said, he was unaware of the ongoing IV bag shortage: He said of the attention his tweet received: Most of the people who have contacted him since his remark began spreading online, he said, have offered similar stories. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url