A video shared on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, purports a recent tornado in North Carolina destroyed a Pfizer warehouse full of COVID-19 vaccines.

🚨 BREAKING NEWS: A Pfizer Warehouse Full of Covid Vaccines Was Just DESTROYED BY A TORNADO in North Carolina ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/BiyLw65OaV

— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) July 19, 2023

Verdict: False

While a recent tornado did cause damage to Pfizer’s Rocky Mount, North Carolina plant, that particular plant does not produce COVID-19 vaccines, according to Forbes and Pfizer’s website, respectively.

Fact Check:

On July 24, Pfizer said supply disruptions of over 30 drugs may occur following a recent tornado that struck its North Carolina plant, according to Reuters. The pharmaceutical company also advised hospitals on which products may have limited inventory in a recent letter, CNN reported.

“BREAKING NEWS: A Pfizer Warehouse Full of Covid Vaccines Was Just DESTROYED BY A TORNADO in North Carolina,” the video’s caption purports. The video, viewed over 12 million times, features an aerial of view of the damage the warehouse sustained.

The claim is false, however. While a recent tornado did cause damage to Pfizer’s Rocky Mount, North Carolina plant, that particular plant does not produce COVID-19 vaccines, according to Forbes and Pfizer’s website, respectively. Pfizer’s Rocky Mount, North Carolina plant manufactures sterile injectables used in U.S. hospitals, including analgesics and anti-infectives, according to Pfizer’s website.

Likewise, a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing and distribution fact sheet from the pharmaceutical company indicates the vaccine is made in Pfizer’s Michigan- and Wisconsin-based facilities.

In addition, Check Your Fact found no other credible news reports suggesting a Pfizer warehouse full of COVID-19 vaccines was destroyed following the recent tornado in North Carolina. (RELATED: Does Garlic Kill COVID-19?)

A statement published on Pfizer’s website revealed that the pharmaceutical company’s Rocky, Mount North Carolina-based plant would be closed and assessed for damage. The statement also reiterated the plant was responsible for producing sterile injectables but mentioned nothing about COVID-19 vaccines.

Check Your Fact has contacted Pfizer for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.