Contrary to claims, Pfizer plant damaged by tornado didn't hold COVID vaccines
Pfizer does not manufacture or store its COVID-19 vaccine or treatment for disease at the facility
North Carolina (AP) - Social media users are falsely claiming that a Pfizer plant in North Carolina damaged by a tornado was “stocked” with the company’s COVID-19 vaccine.
CLAIM: A Pfizer warehouse in North Carolina damaged by a tornado was stocked with the company’s COVID-19 vaccine.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Pfizer does not manufacture or store its COVID-19 vaccine or treatment for the disease at the facility, a company representative told The Associated Press. The plant is used to manufacture sterile injectable medicines, such as drugs used in IV infusions.
THE FACTS: The tornado on Wednesday ripped the roof of the drugmaker’s factory near Rocky Mount, North Carolina — potentially disrupting drug supplies at U.S. hospitals. The company says the facility makes nearly 25% of Pfizer’s sterile injectable medicines used in U.S. hospitals
But the news quickly gave rise to false claims online that the twister had struck a site specifically storing doses of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine — which has been the center of persistent misinformation since its release in December 2020.
“BREAKING: A Pfizer Warehouse that was stocked with COVID-19 vaccines was just destroyed by a tornado in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina,” reads one popular tweet. Similar claims were shared on Instagram.
But the plant in question is not used to manufacture or store any doses of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, Pfizer spokesperson Pam Eisele told the AP. Nor is the site used to make or store Paxlovid, the company’s pill used to treat those who get sick with the disease.
Instead, the plant produces injectables like drugs used in IV infusions or that are delivered under the skin or into patient muscles. Some examples include anesthesia drugs and anti-infectives, typically used to treat things such as fungal infections.
Pfizer has said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for, and that it is still assessing damage.
