Two small children were treated in a Tennessee hospital this month because their specialty baby formula was unavailable amid the nationwide shortage, reports The Hill.
The children, one preschool age and one a toddler, per The New York Times, were hospitalized at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in Memphis. Both had "special medical needs that have specific dietary requirements," said Mark Corkins, division chief of pediatric gastroenterology at Le Bonheur and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. They need a type of formula produced by Abbott Nutrition, which closed its plant earlier this year over health concerns.
The children's bodies "did not adapt well" to other types of formula that doctors tried, causing them to need treatment through IV fluids.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Corkins said that parents should contact their pediatrician if they notice their child isn't adapting well to a formula or they simply have questions, adding that, "[t]his can be a complicated and cumbersome process and is extremely difficult for parents to navigate on their own."
The nationwide formula shortage got much worse after a recall from Abbott, one of the largest formula manufacturers. President Biden says officials are working to increase the supply of overseas shipments to stock shelves in the short term.
-
September 13 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
