Yet company executives at a meeting Biden hosted from the
“They did, but I didn’t,” Biden told reporters later, saying he was not made aware of the severity until early April.
Under Biden, the government has imported foreign supplies and used the Defense Production Act to speed domestic production. But those steps did not begin until mid-May, once retailers began rationing supplies and store shelves were emptying.
“There’s nothing more stressful than feeling you can’t get what your child needs,” Biden said, adding that as a “father and a grandfather,” he understands how difficult the shortages have been for parents and their children.
Biden hosted the roundtable with leaders of manufacturers ByHeart,
The meeting Wednesday was a chance to provide an update on what the administration is calling “Operation Fly Formula” to import formula and to use the Korean War-era production law to require suppliers to prioritize their orders in a bid to ease production bottlenecks.
Despite Biden's comment about not being informed of the looming crisis,
“We have been doing this whole of government approach since the recall," she said. "We have been working on this for months, for months. We have been taking this incredibly seriously.”
She acknowledged that Biden is “frustrated” by the situation.
Meanwhile, the
The
The first shipments will include Kendamil Classic Stage 1 and Kendamil Organic formulas, which will be available at Target stores across
The push on imports will help but will not immediately bring an end to supply shortages that have left people who depend on formula facing empty shelves or limits on purchases.
The
After detecting positive samples of rare but dangerous bacteria in multiple parts of the plant, the FDA closed the facility and Abbott announced a massive recall of its formula on
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