News Photo by Michael Gonzalez MyMichigan nurse Angie Nowicki prepares equipment and medication for an oncology appointment at MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena on July 11.

ALPENA — Last Wednesday, a Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina was damaged by a tornado and the company says the storm mostly affected its storage facility.

As the company tries to salvage any materials and equipment in the aftermath, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf said last Wednesday that hospitals shouldn’t expect any significant impacts on their supplies in the immediate future.

Laura Caplis, pharmacy manager of MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena, said she attended a web seminar with Pfizer on Friday and confirmed there is no direct impact incoming for the local hospital.

“(Pfizer) was saying they’re sending products to other storage sites and there would be no immediate issues,” Caplis said. “Right now, Pfizer has 100% allocation for everyone. This means they’re giving hospitals exactly what they need right now and nothing more, so people get what they need. This is to make sure no one is hoarding supplies.”

Caplis also said the organization’s wholesaler, AmerisourceBergen, is doing the same thing with their medication and supplies.

Currently, the United States is experiencing drug shortages with previous emphasis on certain drugs used to treat cancer. Caplis said during that time MyMichigan was not affected by the shortages due to its procedures.

Even with a natural disaster damaging a major manufacturer’s storage area, Caplis said MyMichigan Health still has procedures in place to make sure every hospital has what it needs.

“We share supplies with each location of MyMichigan,” Caplis said. “We always stay proactive when issues come up so we’re not surprised.”

According to Pfizer, the factory that was caught in the storm is responsible for producing roughly 25% of the drugmaker’s injectable products used in hospitals. All 3,200 employees of the plant are safe and the medicine manufacturing area was observed to have no major damage.

Caplis was told during the seminar that the FDA, United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are involved in the situation and are inspecting products, the warehouse itself, and more.

According to the Pfizer website, there are 10 manufacturing sites in the U.S., employing nearly 10,000 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.