Police said they arrested a pharmacist at a hospital in Wisconsin on Thursday, on suspicion of sabotaging more than 500 doses of the coronavirus vaccine. The pharmacist is accused of intentionally removing them from the refrigerator to spoil them.
Some of the doses in question were administered before hospital officials determined that the medicines made by Moderna had been left without refrigeration long enough to render them ineffective. The remaining doses were discarded.
The pharmacist, who was not publicly identified, worked at Aurora Medical Center in Milwaukee, a suburb of Grafton. Aurora Health Care Medical Group Chairman Dr. Jeff Bahr said Moderna assured the hospital that the doses removed from the refrigeration pose no safety concerns for those who received an injection.
“It is important to note that there is no evidence that the individual in question has tampered with the vaccine in any way other than by removing it from refrigeration, leading to what is known as denaturing the vaccine.”
When the lost bottles were found on December 26, the pharmacist said it was an inadvertent mistake. But hospital officials said he admitted on Wednesday that he intentionally removed the vaccine from cold storage.
Neither Aurora Health nor the police offered any possible reason for the sabotage.
Video transcription
– Police said they arrested a pharmacist at a hospital in Wisconsin on Thursday, on suspicion of sabotaging more than 500 doses of the coronavirus vaccine. The pharmacist is accused of intentionally removing them from the refrigerator to spoil them. Some of the doses in question were administered before hospital officials determined that the medicines made by Moderna had been left without refrigeration long enough to render them ineffective. The remaining doses were discarded.
The pharmacist, who was not publicly identified, worked at Aurora Medical Center in Milwaukee, a suburb of Grafton. Aurora Health Care Medical Group Chairman Dr. Jeff Bahr said Moderna assured the hospital that the doses removed from the refrigeration pose no safety concerns for those who received an injection.
JEFF BAHR: It is important to note that there is no evidence that the individual in question has tampered with the vaccine in any way other than removing it from refrigeration, leading to what is called denaturation of the vaccine.
– When the lost vials were found on December 26, the pharmacist said it was an inadvertent mistake, but hospital officials said he admitted on Wednesday that he had intentionally removed the vaccine from cold storage. Neither Aurora Health nor the police offered any possible reason for the sabotage.