Mom shares heartbreaking experience of what it's like to go through formula shortage in the US

A mom of two recently took to TikTok to reveal how the infant formula shortages in the United States affect children with food hypersensitivities. Since being posted last week, Kayzie Weedman's video has received more than 1.5 million views, 91,400 likes and more than 10,000 comments about the baby formula shortage that's been going since March. She begins the video by pointing out how more people need to speak out about the ongoing crisis and how it affects people's lives. Weedman mentions that while you'd normally walk into your local grocery store and expect to see heaps of baby formula, now the shelves are absolutely bare when you go in.

"Y'all, let's talk about the formula shortage that's plaguing the US right now. Because more people need to know about this. You go to your local Target, your local Walmart, you think you're gonna get this formula your baby needs. Nope, the shelves are bare. And there are babies that can't have just any formula on the shelf—like mine. I'm going to insert a picture of what my daughter looks like when she has cow's milk because she has a huge cow's milk protein allergy," Weedman says in the video, revealing two photographs of her infant with blotches of red across her entire face.

"So what am I going to do when I go to the shelves and I can't get the formula that I need? The pharmacist who fills her prescription formula can't fill it because they can't get it. It's back-ordered, for six months, and I just have to sit there and stare at empty shelves and not know what I'm going to do next," the worried mother continues. "What are we going to do? Where are we going to go from here? How do formula moms feed their kids? What are our options? This is crazy. I'm going to insert a video of what the shelves look like at my store," she added, revealing a snap of the empty shelves at her local store.

Fortunately, there might soon be some respite for parents struggling to find baby formula. According to NPR, Abbott Nutrition—one of the largest formula manufacturers in the United States—has reached an agreement with the government to reopen one of its closed factories and increase production. The company shut down its facility in Sturgis, Michigan, three months ago after several babies fell ill after drinking formula. Two of the infants died of bacterial infections. Following this tragedy, the Justice Department filed a complaint against Abbott, alleging the factory failed to comply with quality and safety regulations.

However, Abbott and the government have now agreed to a proposed settlement to resolve the complaint. In a statement released Monday, Abbott said that following FDA approval, production at the facility could restart within two weeks and that it would take another six to eight weeks before formula from the plant would be available on grocery shelves. "Our number one priority is getting infants and families the high-quality formulas they need, and this is a major step toward re-opening our Sturgis facility so we can ease the nationwide formula shortage. We look forward to working with the FDA to quickly and safely re-open the facility," said Robert B. Ford, chairman and CEO of Abbott. "We know millions of parents and caregivers depend on us and we're deeply sorry that our voluntary recall worsened the nationwide formula shortage. We will work hard to re-earn the trust that moms, dads and caregivers have placed in our formulas for more than 50 years."

Meanwhile, the FDA is also announcing other plans to ease the nationwide formula shortage. "We know many parents and caregivers are feeling frustrated by their inability to access needed or desired infant formula and critical medical foods," FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said at an FDA briefing acknowledging the struggles many parents are facing. He announced that the FDA is easing some restrictions on which manufacturers can sell infant formula in the U.S. "Our new guidance streamlines the ability for companies, including those that do not normally sell infant formula in this country, to make products available to the U.S. market," Califf said, adding that these flexibilities will mean "additional products can quickly hit U.S. stores."