(NEWSnet/AP) — The fallout from a Pfizer factory being damaged by a tornado could put even more pressure on already-strained drug supplies at U.S. hospitals, experts say.

Wednesday’s tornado touched down near Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and ripped up the roof of a Pfizer factory that makes nearly 25% of Pfizer’s sterile injectable medicines used in U.S. hospitals, according to the drugmaker.

Pfizer said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for, and no serious injuries were reported.

As the company assesses the damage to gauge the impact, experts are concerned Pfizer's lost product and production capability could have significant consequences for hospitals across the country.

Experts also fear this event could exacerbate the nation's ongoing drug shortages, like increased demand, scarcity of raw materials from overseas and a lack of transparency in the supply chain.

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