They manufacture a lot of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies in Puerto Rico.  But not lately because stuff happened and hasn’t been remedied.  52,000 power poles need replacing and such and only 10% have been addressed.  The estimate on when the island will have full power restored is now May!  That’s May, a full 8 months after the storm.

The FDA announced in November that they expected a shortage of  IV fluid bags.

Most significantly to date, hospitals across the country are reporting shortages of IV fluids, particularly sodium chloride 0.9% injection bags – a type of saline bag. Saline IV fluids, which are used to inject drugs intravenously in hospital and outpatient settings, have been intermittently in shortage dating back to 2014. However, despite our best efforts, the situation in Puerto Rico has greatly exacerbated this supply issue.

But the problem is not going away just because the FDA is aware of it, because Puerto Rico is not getting back up on its feet anytime soon.  Local hospitals are starting to really notice the shortages.  And so are patients.

In this hyper connected world, it’s Trump level delusional to believe that disasters to one part of the coduntry (or world) can’t have wider impact.  In other words “it’s just those poor people” syndrome is not a thing.