US: Baby formula to be flown in by military jets

US President Joe Biden has used a Cold War-era statute to give baby formula manufacturers first priority from suppliers.

The Defense Production Act, which was first implemented to support defense production during the Korean War, will require formula manufacturers’ suppliers to fulfil orders from those companies before other customers, the White House said on Wednesday, in an effort to eliminate production bottlenecks.

The White House said in a statement that the administration’s reaction to the formula shortfall will include the Pentagon hiring commercial flights “to deliver items from manufacturing facilities abroad that have fulfilled Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety standards.”

The White House said that the emergency measures are similar to those implemented in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, dubbed “Operation Fly Formula.”

While the formula shortfall was initially caused by supply chain disruptions and a shortage of production employees owing to the pandemic, it has been compounded by Abbott’s recall of formula prepared at its Michigan factory after four newborns were infected with germs and two of them died.

Regulators announced that they had struck an agreement to restore the plant, which had been shut down following the deaths.

Still, Abbott estimates that new items will arrive in stores in eight to ten weeks.

Many families in the United States still rely on formula since breastfeeding is not an option.

Given the lack of statutory standards for paid maternity leave, many moms find themselves needing to return to work soon after giving birth.

Currently, federal law only protects women in the United States for 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave.