Saline Shortage Feared With Hurricane Season Threatening Production
Baxter, the main manufacturer of the essential drug, says it’s better prepared if its Puerto Rico operations get slammed again.
Illustration: Rose Wong for Bloomberg Businessweek
Three years ago, when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, it crippled Baxter International Inc.’s ability to manufacture saline solution, an essential hospital supply. With another hurricane season threatening the island, Baxter says it will do better if disaster strikes again, even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
As the Atlantic hurricane season gets under way, the looming confluence of bad weather and a deadly global pandemic has the medical world increasingly on edge. Hospitals rely heavily on saline solution-filled pouches to deliver medications such as antibiotics and painkillers, as well as to hydrate patients. Baxter, which dominates the saline market, makes most of those clear bags in Puerto Rico, drawn there by tax incentives, as are dozens of other drugmakers.