WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday urged Abbott Laboratories to do more to ensure low-income families on federal assistance have access to baby formula, amid a nationwide shortage.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the company should extend flexibility through the end of August for states and territories to obtain rebates to purchase alternative formulas to ensure supply for people on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Nearly half the infants in the program are covered by an Abbott contract.
“We further request that you continue these commitments until Abbott’s formula supply meets demand across the country,” Vilsack wrote in a letter to Abbott CEO Robert Ford that was released by the White House. “I believe Abbott must take these additional actions to support vulnerable WIC families during this challenging time.”
