As the baby formula shortage crisis reaches its breaking point, parents and politicians chastised President Biden on his failure to address the ongoing shortage across the nation. The past few weeks have seen an alarming rise of the shortage with at least a dozen states encountering 40 percent and higher out of stock rates.
According to experts this national shortage arose due to supply chain issues associated with the pandemic. Politicians have called out the administration on their apparent hesitation to deal with the situation.
Indiana congressman and Republican Jim Banks criticized Biden on Twitter. "This is horrific. In six states, more than 50% of baby formula is out of stock. Across the country, the price of formula is up nearly 20 percent from last year. Young parents are having to ration food. The disastrous Joe Biden economy is turning into a crisis," he wrote.
It is not just the opposition party leaders who are expressing their disappointment with the administration's failure to take responsibility, the democrats have also stepped in. Last month, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island sent a letter to Biden urging his administration to take measures in curbing the rising crisis.
He wrote: "There is plenty of baby formula to go around, we just need to get it to those in need. I want to ensure the federal government is doing its part, being proactive, and helping new moms and dads and solve this issue." He even questioned the president on any steps being considered by the administration to 'minimize the impact of the immediate shortage' but received no reply.
After keeping a track on the formula stock in almost 11,000 retailers, Datasembly performed an analysis which revealed a nine per cent hike in the national out-of-stock levels from 31 per cent to 40 per cent, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Distressed parents have repeatedly implored the government and the media to 'better address the crisis.' In an interview with Fox News Digital, a couple expressed their frustrations and shock over having to encounter such a crisis in current times. The situation had worsened in February after an infant's death led to a massive recall of three different brands – Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare.
"These are real problems for real people," the father spoke about his struggles of finding formula over the past several weeks as no brand of the product was available at local stores. The couple has now turned to social media and parent groups for help and are 'open to anything.'
Several desperate parents have voiced their fears and anger on social media sites, one troubled mother wrote, "If the MSM [mainstream media] can talk about the toilet paper shortage ever (sic) hour, they should be talking about the baby formula shortage at least."
According to the Daily Mail, alarming rise of the national shortage have also led to the rationing of baby formula by the biggest retailers like CVS, Walgreens, and Target.
However, the good news is that baby formula producers have disclosed their plans to ramp up production again. In a statement to the Washington Post, Abbott Labs said, "we know that this recall has further exacerbated an industry-wide instant formula supply shortage, we are doing everything we can to address it." What's more, the company even has an aim to come up with alternative formulas approved by health care providers.
Until that happens, parents have been advised by experts to make an attempt in creating their own formula at home with the alternative being to replace it with cow's milk. The Infant Nutrition Council of America has cautioned against stockpiling products as they believe the shortage might continue.
