Stores and pharmacies across the country, including CVS and Walgreens, are limiting purchases of infant formula as stock-out shortages have prompted parents and caregivers to seek homemade alternatives that experts warn may be dangerous or unsafe. nutritious enough for their children.
This shortage has also generated campaigns by parents and associations, which in some cases ask the federal government to take action to ensure that essential supply chains such as food for children are not broken.
CVS reported this Friday that
it will only allow three units of baby formula per customer to be purchased
both online and in its stores due to the shortage of supply.
"We continue to work with our infant formula suppliers to address this issue," he told NBC News.
Target, Walmart and Walgreens are also limiting the number of these types of products that can be purchased at their stores.
[Now how do I feed my son? Baby formula is in short supply]
Since February, the shortage of baby formula in stores across the country has become more acute.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Parents across the country have posted comments on social media about near-empty or more expensive formula shelves, which can lead to panic buying, though shared incidents are likely sporadic and limited to a few. locations.
Food banks have also warned about the lack of stock.
“We can still operate, but there's not as much [as there used to be,” Derrick Williams, operations manager for the Central and Eastern North Carolina Food Bank in Raleigh told Fox News.
"It's very dangerous"
As a consequence, some families desperately search for alternatives.
In the last week, searches related to the phrase "how to make homemade baby formula" have increased more than 120% on Google But experts recommend being careful.
"They can be intoxicated by water and also suffer from a lack of electrolytes that are properly balanced in the formula," explained Dr. Martin Yudovich in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.
Pediatricians also warn that adding more water than the indicated dose could be dangerous for minors.
Homemade baby formulas have been used regularly in the past, but they also made many babies sick, experts say.
“It's very dangerous,” said eg Meeker, a pediatrician and creator of the
Parenting Great Kids
podcast. She warned that they must be produced with great care so that they are not contaminated and to ensure that they provide adequate nutrition.
Do not do it, they can be intoxicated: they warn of the danger of rendering the baby formula with water due to the shortage
May 3, 202201:49
Experts recommend that parents look for alternatives in other similar products, contact formula providers and
their pediatricians
to find out where they can get formulas or other foods and, whenever possible,
resort
to breastfeeding
It is also requested to avoid buying baby formulas that come from other countries because they may be counterfeit products.
Community organizations and churches may also offer help in obtaining baby food.
How long will it last?
The shortage was caused in part by the closure of a major Abbott Labs plant in Sturgis, Michigan, in February after health authorities launched an investigation into allegations that four babies who had consumed formula prepared there had been hospitalized.
They suffered from Cronobacter
sakazakii
, a rare bacterial infection that is particularly deadly for young babies, and two of them died.
[FDA Expands Baby Formula Recall Following Death of Another Child]
But there are more causes, such as inflation and general supply chain problems, according to a report from datasembly, which said in April that baby formula was running low.
Stockouts increased 9% between April 3 and 24, according to the report, which analyzed more than 11,000 retailers.
H
There are a dozen states especially affected, including Iowa, North and South Dakota, Missouri, Texas and Tennessee.
The executive director of lDatasembly Ben Reich, told the news website Politico that this situation will continue “dramatically affecting the difference, and an improvement is expected in the short term.
SRI, another data analytics company that pulls data directly from retailers, found that the average product availability rate is currently around 79%, well below pre-pandemic norms of 95%, but not critically so. low.
Abbott Labs has also reported that it is working to increase production at its other facilities.
"I don't know how my son will survive"
This situation worries even more those parents who need food to keep their children alive.
Abbott Nutrition's Sturgis plant was not only one of the nation's largest suppliers of infant formula, it was also the leading manufacturer of certain lesser-known specialty formulas that are a lifesaver for thousands of people with rare medical conditions, including metabolic disorders. , allergic and gastrointestinal, which can make it dangerous or impossible to eat anything else.
[A parent tells how he affected his baby by consuming one of the chronobacterial-contaminated formulas]
If this isn't fixed soon, I don't know how my son will survive," said Phoebe Carter, aolitico.
Her 5-year-old son, John, has a severe form of
eosinophilic Esophagitis
, a rare disease of the digestive and immune systems, and relies on formula for 100% of his feeding.
Calfresh program offers up to $835 to buy food for families in need
May 6, 202201:35
Parent groups and associations have started campaigns to prevent this shortage, now and in the future.
Carter has urged parents and caregivers to contact members of Congress to pressure the government to help fix the declining supply by facilitating production at another facility.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is aware of the situation.
On April 29, the agency announced that it had told Abbott that “the agency has no objection to the company immediately dispensing the product to people who need urgent supplies of the special life-sustaining formulations. by case".
[Joe Biden Administration Issues New School Nutrition Standards]
The FDA has also asked Congress to consider giving the agency more authority to prevent these events.
Manufacturers of infant formula or essential medical foods are not required by law to notify the FDA when they become aware of a circumstance that could cause a shortage of these products,” the agency said in a recent budget document.