Weather Disasters Impacted Counties With More Than 60 Percent of Drug Production Facilities
FRIDAY, Aug. 22, 2025 -- More than 60 percent of drug production facilities were located in U.S. counties with at least one disaster declaration from 2019 to 2024, according to a research letter published online Aug. 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Mahnum Shahzad, Ph.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the frequency with which climate-related disaster events affected counties with U.S. drug production facilities. Counties with a Presidential Disaster Declaration from 2019 through 2024 were identified; the number of facilities that were in counties impacted by disasters was calculated.
Overall, there were 10,861 drug production facilities that were active from 2019 through 2024, ranging from 5,063 in 2023 to 8,790 in 2020 when 43.9 percent of the facilities were in counties with at least one disaster declaration. The researchers found 6,819 active facilities (62.8 percent) were located in counties where a disaster was declared, cumulatively, in the six-year period, with an average of 2,146 active facilities (33.8 percent) annually. During the study period, all types of climate-related disasters were declared in at least one county with an active drug production facility, with hurricanes the most common. The likelihood that counties with and without drug production facilities experienced at least one disaster declaration did not differ significantly.
"These findings underscore the importance of recognizing climate-related vulnerabilities and the urgent need for supply chain transparency, for strategic allocation of production, and for disaster risk management strategies to prevent health care disruptions in the United States," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to relevant organizations.
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
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