The nation has been experiencing a severe shortage of IV solutions in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which have battered North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida.

The shortage has brought about its own crisis, with hospitals being forced to ration their IV supply to help as many patients as possible.

An IV factory that was shut down because of the storm has reportedly reopened and is resuming its operations.

The factory’s manufacturing plant and distribution center resumed normal operations at 8 a.m. Friday, the company said in an email to The Hill.

B. Braun Medical’s manufacturing and distribution center in Daytona Beach was not seriously impacted by Hurricane Milton, according to a spokesperson Alli Longenhagen.  

Before the storm hit, the company moved more than 60 truckloads with more than 1.5 million bags of IV solution to northern areas of Florida with help from the federal Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response.  

“We understand from discussions with employees that there have been no reported injuries, but many are still without power,” Longenhagen said. “We are especially thankful to the employees who remained at the site to provide updates throughout the storm.”

Hospitals across the country were already affected by an IV shortage after Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina, impacting the Baxter International facility there. The North Carolina facility that had to shut down is responsible for 60 percent of the country’s IV solutions. Production from that facility is expected to resume in the next two weeks.  

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday decided to allow IV fluids from Baxter Healthcare Corp facilities operating in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and China because of the shortage. 

In a public letter, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed that the FDA is “expediting assessments” of alternative manufacturing sites and other temporary imports to make sure that medical facilities can provide treatment to their patients.

This move came after it was revealed that about 86 percent of healthcare providers were running out of the product, according to Just the News. “There are currently shortages of normal saline IV fluids…that pre-date Hurricane Helene,” Becerra said.

Government officials have been approving airlifts of IV fluids from overseas to manufacturing plants to deal with the shortages, according to the New York Times.

The supply crunch from flooding at the Baxter plant has led the company to limit hospital customers to 40 to 60 percent of their typical supplies this week. The American Hospital Association wrote to President Biden on Monday, seeking assistance to alleviate concerns about “substantial shortages of these lifesaving and life-supporting products.”

The saline, dextrose and sterile water fluids that the Baxter plant makes have myriad uses in health care: They are used for basic hydration before surgery or childbirth and can be mixed with nutrients and medications, including chemotherapies.

They are widely used in life-supporting infusions for babies born prematurely.

Some are crucial to treating sepsis, a life-threatening blood infection.

So far, over 200 people have died because of Hurricane Helene, according to The Associated Press. About 14 have been reported deceased due to Hurricane Milton, NBC News reported.