Biden’s Supply Chain Shortage Hits the Baby Formula Market – Opinion

Joe Biden’s supply chain shortage has hit in some odd places, but now the “odd” has become downright scary as American parents find themselves facing a shortage of baby formula.

Fox News reported on April 1st that infant formula inventories were down 31%. Supply chain problems and recalls are two factors that lead to the shortage. After reports that infants had contracted bacterial infections from formula, Abbott Nutrition, a major manufacturer of formula, voluntarily recall their Similac and EleCare brands. Two infants were killed. It is currently struggling to return production to normal levels. Store shelves are a reflection of this harsh reality.

Specialty formulas are the most vulnerable area in the market for formula. They can be used by parents with infants who have medical conditions, sometimes as a substitute for breast milk.

Reporting for The Deseret News, Bethany Mandel calls the issue a “five-alarm fire” and says that recently one Brooklyn mother had to endure a frantic, frightening search for specialty formula for her infant, who suffers from an airway disorder.

Target had the most depleted formula shelves. She shocked her. The store didn’t have the nipple she needed, either.

“Neither did five other stores, or any online store except Amazon, which would take a week to arrive. We were lucky to finally find one last set in the grocery store,” she said.

She added, “Late one night, we ran out of his formula and went to the store only to find out that they had none of it left. The manager didn’t have any idea when more would come, even though he asked. He stated that the suppliers had been inconsistent. We ran around to two more stores before finding the formula we needed.”

Mandel spoke to several people with similar stories, including a man who had to FedEx his niece formula because she couldn’t find what she needed on Boston shelves, and a woman who did not want give her name because she felt forced to “hoard” what formulas she could find at big box stores like Costco.

Boston’s NPR affiliate spoke with one pediatrician who says he is fielding more and more calls from concerned parents about how they can find formula.

Boston Medical Center’s pediatrician, Dr. Jack Maypole stated that his office received many inquiries per day during February and March when the recall was at its peak. These were in comparison to the number of inquires received just one week earlier.

Maypole said during his career he has seen past shortages of baby supplies — from formula to diapers to medical equipment — but this shortage has been notably grim.

“It’s never been at the magnitude and the scale that we’re seeing right now,” Maypole said, adding that the shortage hits medically fragile children particularly hard.

“Those families can really be at sea and really, actually be somewhat desperate to reestablish nutritional support for them,” he said. “Those are the ones I worry about.”

Maypole tells parents not to dilute formula or use cow’s milk, but consult with their doctor if they need to find alternative methods of nutrition.

And that’s the truly scary part. As the richest and most successful nation in the world, America has lost the ability to provide the food for its children. Mandel rightly points out that this emergency is five-fold, however, the Biden administration keeps spinning and lying about our current economic state.

BIDEN – “I believe what you’re witnessing is tremendous growth in the nation.”

In the first quarter 2022, 1.4% of America’s economy contracted. pic.twitter.com/eZ21NzrA4T

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 28, 2022

Check out this segment from St.Louis’ NewstalkSTL Radio (with RedState’s own Susie Moore) as a listener calls in to share how a relative recently had to drive 78 miles to find the baby formula he needed for his child.

But hey, everyone, at least we don’t have those mean tweets anymore…am I right?