When the sudden COVID-19 shutdown caused people to hoard toilet paper, the nation was half amused by the inability to find a roll on any retail shelf.
There’s nothing funny, though, about the baby-formula shortage that has reached a peak in recent weeks. Many babies need formula to survive and thrive. It contains all the nutrients, in the right quantities, to meet an infant’s health and developmental needs. Some parents have reportedly taken to watering down commercial formula, a dangerous step that threatens to leave their babies malnourished. And pediatricians are warning parents against making homemade formula.
The scarcity should be easing, now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is allowing the import of more brands of European formula and has reached an agreement with Abbott, the country’s biggest formula maker, to restart production at its Michigan plant. But it could be two months before the facility is fully operational. The plant was closed in February after a contamination of a deadly bacteria was found. Several babies who were drinking the formula got sick and two died, though the company says there is no evidence that its product was the cause.
