According to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), there could be indirect repercussions beyond the health implications of the spread of coronavirus, especially as supply chains are disrupted globally.

Rubio told Fox News Channel’s Maria Bartiromo on Sunday pharmaceuticals could feel the brunt those disruptions and argued measure should be considered in the event of future interruptions.

“Not only is it 80 percent coming from outside the country, and a significant percentage of those active ingredients are from China, but they actually come, a lot of it, from that very province, that Wuhan province, that’s — that was the origin of this crisis,” he said. “And so the result of it now is that there is invariably going to be supply chain issues and disruptions. We already saw last night that there was a disclosure that we have already had our first declared drug shortage. They haven’t yet, as of this moment, told us what drug it is, but it won’t be the last one.”

Rubio would not speculate on any specific shortages, but said steps should be taken in the long-term to prevent disruptions in the future.

“I don’t want to speculate about how bad it can be,” Rubio added. “And I know steps are being taken to stockpile. Now, I asked this — this question a few days ago in a hearing we had with — with the HHS secretary. But bottom line is, I do think we are going to have some shortages. And I hope we’re in a position to manage it here in terms of knowing what they are. But, long term, the question is, should we rely, as a nation, on something as important as medicine? Should we rely so heavily on a single foreign country, particularly one who’s a near-peer adversary, and one who appears to be prone to these sorts of outbreaks that are disruptive?

Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor