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A28 u.s. news
Diaranson 11 Mei 2022

Parents hunting for baby formula as shortage spans U.S.

“For babies who are not be- Industry executives say the
ing breastfed, this is the only Like many Americans, Stew- constraints began last year
thing they eat,” said Dr. Ste- art relies on WIC — a fed- as the COVID-19 pandemic
ven Abrams, of the Universi- eral program similar to food led to disruptions in ingre-
ty of Texas, Austin. “So it has stamps that serves mothers dients, labor and transporta-
to have all of their nutrition and children — to afford for- tion. Supplies were further
and, furthermore, it needs to mula for her daughter. Ab- squeezed by parents stockpil-
be properly prepared so that bott’s recall wiped out many ing during lockdowns.
it’s safe for the smallest in- WIC-covered brands, though
fants.” the program is now allowing Then in February, Abbott re-
substitutions. called several major brands
Laura Stewart, a 52-year-old and shut down its Sturgis,
mother of three who lives Trying to keep formula in Michigan, factory when fed-
just north of Springfield, stock, retailers including CVS eral officials concluded four
Missouri, has been struggling and Walgreens have begun babies suffered bacterial in-
for several weeks to find for- limiting purchases to three fections after consuming for-
mula for her 10-month-old containers per customer. mula from the facility. Two of
daughter, Riley. the infants died.
(AP) — Parents across press secretary Jenn Psaki Nationwide about 40% of
the U.S. are scrambling said the Food and Drug Ad- Riley normally gets a brand large retail stores are out of When FDA inspectors vis-
to find baby formula be- ministration was “working of Abbott’s Similac designed stock, up from 31% in mid- ited the plant in March they
cause supply disruptions around the clock to address for children with sensitive April, according to Datas- found lax safety protocols
and a massive safety recall any possible shortages” and stomachs. Last month, she embly, a data analytics firm. and traces of the bacteria on
have swept many leading will try to expedite imports instead used four different More than half of U.S. states several surfaces. None of
brands off store shelves. of foreign baby formula to brands. are seeing out-of-stock rates the bacterial strains matched
increase supply. between 40% and 50%, ac- those collected from the in-
Months of spot shortages at “She spits up more. She’s just cording to the firm, which fants, however, and the FDA
pharmacies and supermar- For now, pediatricians and more cranky. She is typically collects data from 11,000 lo- hasn’t offered an explanation
kets have been exacerbated health workers are urging a very happy girl,” Stewart cations. for how the contamination
by the recall at Abbott, which parents who can’t find for- said. “When she has the right occurred.
was forced to shutter its larg- mula to contact food banks formula, she doesn’t spit up. Baby formula is particularly
est U.S. formula manufac- or doctor’s offices. They She’s perfectly fine.” vulnerable to disruptions be- For its part, Abbott says its
turing plant in February due warn against watering down cause just a handful of com- formula “is not likely the
to contamination concerns. formula to stretch supplies or A small can costs $17 to $18 panies account for almost the source of infection,” though
using online DIY recipes. and lasts three to five days, entire U.S. supply. the FDA says its investigation
On Monday, White House Stewart said. continues.
Afghans still adjusting to US: New life, new struggles

(AP) — Taliban forces had taken progress, filled with uncertainty and Then there are more mundane chal- Some have managed to get estab-
the Afghan capital. Crowds of anxiety about the future. lenges that are nonetheless daunt- lished. “But there are many more
panicked people thronged the ing for many Afghans. They include who are not doing fine than are doing
airport. And a young man who Afghan refugees, some of whom learning English, navigating govern- well,” said Megan Flores, executive
had worked as a subcontractor faced possible reprisals for working ment bureaucracies and public trans- director of the Immigrant & Refugee
for the U.S. military faced a ter- with their government or American portation, and finding a job. Outreach Center in McLean, Vir-
rible choice. forces during the war with the Tal- ginia.
iban, say in interviews that they are There is also the isolation for those,
Hasibullah Hasrat, after having navi- grateful to the U.S. for rescuing them like Hasrat, who came alone. “I don’t The experience of the evacuated Af-
gated the chaotic streets and Taliban and family members. know anyone here,” he said in the ghans is not unlike what refugees
checkpoints to make it inside the air- apartment outside Washington he have historically faced in coming to
port, could either go back for his wife But they are often struggling to gain shares with two other evacuees. “I the United States. In some ways it’s a
and two young children or board an a foothold in a new land, straining to have no friends, no family, no rela- preview for the up to 100,000 Ukrai-
evacuation flight and get them later. pay their bills as assistance from the tives. I just live with my roommates nians who President Joe Biden says
Not taking the flight likely meant government and resettlement agen- and my roommates are from other will be welcomed, also in many cases
none of them would get out of Af- cies starts to run out, stuck in tem- parts of Afghanistan.” on two years of humanitarian parole.
ghanistan. porary housing, and trying to figure
out how to apply for asylum because
Hasrat’s decision haunts him. He is in most of the Afghans came under a
the U.S., one of more than 78,000 Af- two-year emergency status known as
ghans admitted into the country fol- humanitarian parole.
lowing the U.S. troop withdrawal in
August that ended America’s longest “We are not sure what may happen,”
war. But his family hasn’t been able to said Gulsom Esmaelzade, whose
join him. They’re still in Afghanistan, family has been shuttled between ho-
where an economic crisis has led to tel rooms in the San Diego area since
widespread hunger and where Tal- January, after spending three months
iban repression is on the rise. at a New Jersey military base. “We
don’t have anything back at home in
“My wife is alone there,” he said, his Afghanistan and here we also don’t
voice breaking as he describes nightly have any future.”
phone calls home. “My son cries, asks
where I am, when am I coming. And It’s taken a toll. Esmaelzade said her
I don’t know what to say.” mother has had to be rushed three
times to the emergency room when
It’s a reminder that the journey for her blood pressure shot up to danger-
many of the Afghans who came to the ous levels. The younger woman attri-
United States in the historic evacua- butes it to the stress of their lives.
tion remains very much a work in