The military cargo plane carrying the first shipment of baby formula arrived in the U.S. from Europe on Sunday amid the ongoing shortage.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it remains unclear when desperate parents would be able to readily buy baby formula.

The cargo plane, which landed in Indianapolis, unloaded about 78,000 pounds of specialty infant formula. Although it was an important step in addressing the baby formula shortage, the shipment is not expected to benefit a large portion of the country.

“This particular formula is for a very, very small percentage of children. Roughly 17,000 children in the country basically are the beneficiaries of this particular formula,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

During a press gaggle held aboard Air Force One en route to Tokoyo, Jean-Pierre said she couldn’t give a timeline as to when more baby formula will return to stores. She called a healthy, safe formula the administration's No. 1 priority.

The CEO of Abbott, the nation's biggest supplier of powder baby formula, recently said the company's Michigan plant would reopen next month after it shut down due to reports of bacterial infections found in four infants.

It could take six-to-eight weeks before a full supply of baby formula hits shelves.

Baby formula has been hard to find on American store shelves amid a weeks-long shortage of the critical staple, but a US military plane bringing tons of much-needed formula has arrived in Indiana in a bit to ease the crisis
Baby formula has been hard to find on American store shelves amid a weeks-long shortage of the critical staple, but a US military plane bringing tons of much-needed formula has arrived in Indiana in a bit to ease the crisis AFP / Jim WATSON
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