HHS Working to Increase Access and Supply of IV Fluids Following Hurricane Helene

According to an Oct. 18 press release, following storm damage from Hurricane Helene at Baxter International Inc.’s facility in North Carolina, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its subagencies continue taking action to support access to intravenous (IV) fluids, including ensuring restoration of key production sites, protecting products, and opening imports, in partnership with manufacturers, distributors, hospitals, and other stakeholders.

The press release added, “As a result of these steps, hospitals have 50% more product available to them now compared to right after the hurricane. Baxter has moved and begun distributing more than 450 truckloads of product from their North Carolina facility over the past 10 days and is already importing additional product from their foreign plants. FDA acted quickly to conduct scientific and regulatory assessments to help facilitate the temporary importation of 23 different IV and peritoneal (PD) fluids from five Baxter facilities around the world. Baxter communicated that supply availability is continually improving and they expect to further increase customer allocations to 90%-100% of historical levels no later than the end of the year. These supply improvements, combined with increased output from other manufacturers, will help hospitals get more of the product they need over the coming weeks.”

Further, “HHS, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to use all available authorities to protect patients, support supply, and keep stakeholders informed, in partnership with manufacturers, distributors, hospitals, and other stakeholders.

HHS also announced additional information about the airlift of Baxter products into the U.S. from international facilities, with first flights scheduled for October 19.

The press release said, “Importing IV solution to the U.S.  While Baxter North Cove is returning to full operational capacity, ASPR is supporting Baxter’s efforts to airlift their product into the U.S. Baxter and ASPR have been collaborating with the FDA, DHS customs officials, and aviation partners to rapidly bolster domestic supply through the importation of Baxter’s international product that has been granted regulatory flexibility by the FDA.  Over the coming weeks this will include tens of million of units of product from at least four different international facilities.

“First flights on October 19. The first flights are scheduled to arrive starting on Saturday, October 19. Each flight will carry between 150K and 250K units of Baxter products from international facilities. Product will continue to be airlifted in the coming weeks to assist in meeting domestic demand as Baxter progresses its remediation efforts at the North Cove facility. The product coming into the United States as part of this effort will be distributed through normal distribution channels consistent with Baxter’s current projections. In partnership with Baxter, ASPR has enabled expedited distribution once reaching the U.S., reducing typical distribution times from 5-10 days to less than a day in some cases.”