Hurricane Helen disrupted IV fluid supplies in the United States

Hospitals across the U.S. may experience reduced supplies of intravenous (IV) fluids after Hurricane Helen flooded a plant involved in the production of IV solutions for one of the nation's largest manufacturers.

Baxter International, a healthcare and medical technology company based in North Carolina, produces 1.5 million bags of IV solution a day, according to the American Hospital Association.

Flooding at Helen's site forced the company to halt production.

The death toll from Hurricane Helen – which was later downgraded to a tropical storm – has now reached 217 in six southeastern US states.

In a statement released Friday, Baxter International said: “We are working around the clock to assess the full extent of the impact and minimize potential supply disruptions to help ensure patients and providers get the products they need.”

In Boston, Massachusetts, a hospital is already dealing with the impact of a supply disruption, after being informed that it will receive only 40% of its usual supplies from Baxter International.

Mass General Brigham Hospital stockpiled its supplies and responded by giving some patients Gatorade or plain water instead of IVs, NBC News reported.

The hospital said it hopes to avoid disruptions in patient care and is making emergency plans.

IV fluids are used to deliver drugs, fluids, or nutrients directly into a person's veins.

IV fluid disruptions occur as more than 800,000 people are still without power. Most of these people are in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, but some have also been affected in Florida and Virginia.

Other residual effects of the storm include potential disruptions to early voting.

A judge in South Carolina ruled Friday that voters will have an extra ten days to register to vote in elections after flooding and power outages hit parts of the state.

The National Task Force on Electoral Crises also discussed the effects of the storm on accessibility to polling stations for the upcoming presidential election.

Several voting sites in North Carolina no longer exist because of the storm, Anne Tyndall, special counsel for Protect Democracy, said during the briefing.

He noted that several others were severely damaged and that new sites and consolidation of sites would have to happen to continue voting.

Experts agree that, regardless of what happens to polling places, the storm will affect turnout.

Former North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Robert Orr predicted that counties affected by the storm would vote “to some degree or another.”

North Carolina is one of seven swing states in the United States that are considered crucial for presidential nominees to win in November.

Both presidential candidates as well as President Joe Biden have visited affected areas in recent days.

The White House said on Friday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had so far provided $45m (£34m) in funding to those affected by the hurricane.

In a statement, it added that the National Guard has sent more than 6,700 Army and Air National Guard members from 16 states to help respond on the ground.

The president also deployed 1,000 active-duty troops to assist in the relief effort.

Earlier in the week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned that if another storm hits the United States next month, FEMA will struggle to provide assistance.

“We're expecting another hurricane to hit … FEMA doesn't have the funds to make it through the season,” Mr. Mayorkas told reporters earlier in the week.

The US government has sent more than 8.8 million meals, more than 7.4 million liters of water, 150 generators and more than 225,000 tarps to the region, Mr. Mayorkas said.