U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday debated if enough has changed to prevent a repeat of the infant formula shortage, more than a year after a nationwide crisis began. Frank Yiannas, former deputy commissioner of the FDA Office of Food Policy & Response from 2018 to 2023, said, "[...]The nation remains one outbreak, one tornado, one flood, or cyberattack away from finding itself in a similar place to that of February 17, 2022."
The federal government on Wednesday recommended an updated COVID-19 booster for kids between 5 and 11, expanding use of the new bivalent shots beyond people 12 and older.
The U.S. government should consider creating a stockpile of infant formula to avoid the possibility of future shortages, the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told a Senate committee last week.
The infant formula shortage began in mid-February after Abbott Laboratories issued a recall and closed its Sturgis, Michigan plant after several infants became sick and at least two died.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is working to “cut red tape,” increase imports of formula and broaden what types of formula are available to participants in the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given a green light to Americans who want to receive a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by a different company than the one that produced the initial shot they received.
States struggling to provide enough COVID-19 vaccines are likely just a few days away from a pivotal development in the vaccination race: the availability of a shot that requires only one dose.
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