Baby formula arrives in Indianapolis from Germany on a US military plane
The mayor of the city of New York, Eric Adams, has declared this Sunday a state of emergency due to the shortage of infant formula both in the metropolis and throughout the country.
Given the lack of supplies – for which the President of the United States, Joe Biden, ordered the launch of an international operation to transport the product from Europe – the mayor has given permission to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to avoid disparity and price increases.
“The shortage of infant formula across the country has caused unimaginable pain and anxiety for families in New York, and we must act urgently,” Adams said in the statement, collected by CNN.
The mayor has estimated that more than 40 percent of retailers have run out of stock and prices are hovering between €12 and €20 per can depending on location, according to the chain.
President Biden ended up invoking a special Production law on Wednesday to increase supply amid a near-total breakdown of the distribution chain.
Between the pandemic and the closure in February of a huge Abbott laboratories plant, one of the main producers of formula, due to an investigation into the infections that four babies began to suffer after ingesting their product, hundreds of American families have been left without access to milk.
Biden has also authorized the Defense Department to use commercial aircraft to airlift supplies of formula that meet federal standards from abroad, in what the White House calls Operation “Fly Formula.”
35 tons
A 35-ton shipment of baby formula arrived in Indianapolis on Sunday on a US military plane from Rammstein Air Base in Germany to deal with a shortage. The baby formula will be distributed in areas of the country where there is the greatest need, an official from the Biden Administration has confirmed to the US network CNN. A total of 132 pallets of infant milk originating from Zurich, Switzerland, were transported by truck to Germany, where they were shipped by plane to the United States. Biden has announced preparations for a second flight to transport 114 pallets of the special infant formula.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has worked tirelessly to increase infant formula production and keep store shelves stocked during Abbott Nutrition’s voluntary recall,” the White House said in a statement.
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