The CEO of Abbott, the company whose voluntary recall of several widely sold baby formula brands helped trigger a nationwide formula shortage, has apologized for the crisis, as the first overseas shipment of formula approved by President Biden arrived in the U.S. Sunday.
The American Red Cross will exclusively use an expensive technology to reduce the risk of dangerous bacteria tainting platelets. But the move limits hospitals' choice of less expensive testing options, which are also effective.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas, as he faces mounting political pressure over a domestic shortage caused by the safety-related closure of the country's largest formula manufacturing plant.
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a severe shortage of another critical product in the U.S.: dye used to perform routine — but potentially lifesaving — patient scans and procedures at hospitals.