HHS outlines efforts to alleviate IV fluid shortage

President Biden’s health secretary told medical leaders on Wednesday that he is working to fill major gaps in the supply of intravenous fluids after a critical factory in North Carolina shut down because of Hurricane Helene.

The Baxter International plant in Marion, North Carolina, supplies about 60% of IV solutions for the U.S., and there were pre-storm shortages of saline IV fluids and other medical fluids.

“The hurricane-related supply disruption at the Baxter facility will likely lead to further constraints for IV fluids,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a letter to health care leaders.

“HHS is encouraging all providers and health systems, regardless of whether they have experienced a disruption in their supply, to take measures to conserve these critical products,” the secretary said. “HHS is in communication with stakeholders to reduce disruption and facilitate product allocation.”

Mr. Becerra said supply will be constrained in the coming weeks but there is a glimmer of hope, as the Baxter facility resumes some shipments to hospitals and dialysis centers.

HHS is working with the Food and Drug Administration to expedite manufacturing at alternate sites. It is considering temporary imports of the products, and expiration dates might be flexible.

“FDA will also expedite consideration of any shelf-life extension requests manufacturers submit for short-dated product,” Mr. Becerra said. “FDA will continue to work with Baxter as they bring their plant back online and with other suppliers to increase supply.”

The shortage of IV fluids is another challenge in a daunting response to Helene, which killed hundreds during its sweep through the Southeast and wiped out entire towns in western North Carolina.

The Biden administration and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are bracing for another huge storm, Hurricane Milton, which is expected to strike the Tampa area late Wednesday.

Mr. Becerra is encouraging hospitals to maximize and conserve the supply of IV fluids where they can.

The secretary penned the letter two days after the American Hospital Association sounded the alarm about shortages. AHA asked for regulatory relief and an order that leverages the Defense Production Act to prioritize contracts for IV fluids.

“Our members are already reporting substantial shortages of these lifesaving and life-supporting products,” AHA President and CEO Richard J. Pollack said in a letter to Mr. Biden. “Patients across America are already feeling this impact, which will only deepen in the coming days and weeks unless much more is done to alleviate the situation and minimize the impact on patient care.”