Biden and the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, touch on parents frustrations about the lack of formula and how President Joe Biden and his team are working around the clock to get what they need, according to the PSA released Tuesday.
Jill Biden, 70, said that being a mom or dad means falling in love deeper than you thought possible. In the first few months of sleepless nights of endless diapers and dirty dishes and worrying about every little danger, your love can feel like the only thing that keeps you going. She told caretakers that they are doing an incredible job even if they don't always feel that way.
I know you are worried about how you are going to feed your baby. The president sees you, he hears you, and his team is working around the clock to get what you need, she said.
Murthy, a father of young children, elaborated on how the president is working tirelessly to increase the supply of formula.
He said the president is working with manufacturers to increase their production capacity and the Food and Drug Administration to get the closed factory back online with strict safety standards. He said that the administration is working on safely importing supply from abroad.
Murthy shared some tips on what parents and caregivers can do. He said it is OK to use a different formula than the one people are used to. He said that all formula will meet the FDA's gold standard, and only safe formula will come to American shelves because parents may see different brands in stores and feel scared. Murthy stressed the importance of not watering down formula or making your own at home. He said these are not solutions that we would consider safe. Parents can find more information on the HHS.gov formula.
Biden concluded the PSA with a statement: I know that you have questions. Call your pediatrician. More than 40 percent of the country's supply of baby formula is out of stock, according to the baby formula shortage. Abbott Nutrition, the country's largest manufacturer of baby formulas, shut down its Sturgis, Michigan, facility after a recall of powdered formulas.
Robert Califf, the FDA's commissioner, said on Monday that he feels very comfortable that the plant should reopen in two weeks. He did not say when formula would be back on the shelves.
Since the plant was closed voluntarily, Californiaf said, "We don't believe that will last until the end of the year, by any means, we've been working closely with Abbott." The FDA released a ad Tuesday reiterates much of the information that was released Monday. The agency said Abbott Nutrition had agreed to terms to reopen the Michigan plant, and it is making it easier for international baby formula makers to sell their products in the U.S. by waiving certain trade barriers.
In the same statement, the FDA said that only 20 percent of regular baby formula supplies are missing from stores, citing new data from a market research group called Information Resources Inc. Previously, the market research group Datasembly reported an average of 43 percent of formula as out of stock.