The Bubs delivery marks the fourth mission of ‘Operation Fly Formula’.
“This flight would bring 4.6 million bottles of infant formula and pave the way for up to 27.5 million total bottles of Bubs infant formula to be supplied to American families in the weeks ahead,” Biden said. “I thank the folks from Down Under.”
Bubs Australia announced over the weekend it was scaling up its production to help ease the months-long baby formula crisis that unfolded after dominant US manufacturer Abbott Laboratories was forced to shut down a major plant after two babies fell sick and another two died from bacterial infections.
“Look,as a father and a grandfather — and I’m sure we all feel the same way — I understand how difficult this shortage has been for families all across the country,” Biden said.
“There is nothing more stressful than the feeling like you can’t get what your child needs.”
Bubs chief Kristy Carr,who joined the US President at the meeting virtually from Melbourne at 4am,said the upcoming shipment would hit supermarket shelves in the West and East Coast and target hardest-hit areas first.
“We will be distributing our products to both the major retailers of infant formula,as well as some of our smaller retail partners,to make sure that we prioritise the states that are most in need and,of course,the vulnerable population areas who need infant formula most,” Carr said.