First shipment of more than half a million baby bottles arrives in Indianapolis

A military plane carrying enough specialty infant formula for more than half a million baby bottles arrived in Indianapolis on Sunday, the first of several flights expected from Europe aimed at relieving a shortage that has caused parents to have to find enough to feed their children.

President Joe Biden authorized the use of Air Force planes for the effort, dubbed Operation Fly Formula, because no commercial flights were available.

The formula weighed 78,000 pounds 35,380 kilograms White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One as Biden flew from South Korea to Japan.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Indianapolis to greet the arrival of the first shipment.

Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic CouncilWhite House National Economic Council, said the flights are intended to provide some incremental relief in the coming days as the government works on a more lasting response to the shortage.

Deese told CNN's State of the Union that Saturday brought 15% of the specialty medical grade formula needed in the U.S. and people should see more formula in stores starting as early as this week because of various actions by the government. He said that the U.S. needs more formula providers in order to ensure that no individual company has control over supply chains over the long term. The Biden administration has struggled to address the nationwide shortage of formula, particularly hypoallergenic varieties. The shutdown of the nation's largest domestic manufacturing plant in Michigan in February was due to safety issues.

The White House said 132 pallets of Nestle Health Science Alfamino Infant and Alfamino Junior Formula were to leave Ramstein Air Base in Germany for the U.S. Other 114 pallets of Gerber Good Start Extensive HA formula were expected to arrive in the coming days. Around 1.5 million 8 ounce bottles of the three formulas, which are hypoallergenic for children with cow s milk protein allergies, are expected to arrive this week.

Indianapolis was chosen because it is a Nestle distribution hub. The formula will be loaded into FedEx semitractor-trailers and sent to a Nestle distribution center about a mile away where the company will do a standard quality control check before distributing supplies to hospitals, pharmacies and doctor's offices, according to an administration official on site.

Nestle said that it has worked around the clock to address the formula shortage and meet demand over the past few months.

In a release, the company said that we have increased the amount of formulas available to consumers, by ramping up production and accelerating general product availability to retailers and online, as well as through hospitals and home health care for those most vulnerable.

It said that at Nestle, we are committed to doing everything we can to get parents and caregivers the formula they need so their children can thrive. These products were prioritized because they serve a critical medical purpose, as they are for children with cow s milk protein allergies. Under Operation Fly Formula, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services are authorized to request Department of Defense support to pick up overseas infant formula that meets U.S. health and safety standards, so it can get to store shelves faster, according to the USDA.

Alfamino is primarily available through hospitals and home health care companies that serve patients at home.

U.S. regulators and manufacturer Abbott Nutrition hope to have its Michigan plant reopened next week, but it will take about two months before product is ready for delivery. The Food and Drug Administration has loosened importation requirements for baby formula to try to lessen supply crunch, which has left store shelves empty of some brands and some retailers rationing supply for parents who are worried about feeding their children.