Lawyer Aurora Health fired a pharmacist who allegedly tampered with 57 vials of the modern coronavirus vaccine, intentionally removing them from a refrigerator. And the Grafton Village Police Department announced on Thursday that officers had arrested the former employee.
The interference resulted in 57 people receiving ineffective or less effective doses of the vaccine and more than 500 doses being discarded, reports Alison Dirr to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In a statement on Thursday, Grafton police said the former pharmacist – a resident of Grafton – admitted to intentionally removing the vials, knowing that this would make the vaccine unusable. The department omitted his name “pending his old notice of charges”. The recommended charges include three different crimes.
The episode sparked outrage across the country as the country struggles to rapidly distribute the vaccines needed to end the pandemic.
“This is a monstrous thing to do,” said State Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, tweeted Wednesday night. “We have a lot to worry about in this pandemic, but I never thought we would have a vaccine saboteur.”
Programming note: The Wisconsin COVID-19 update will take off on Friday. We will be back on Monday afternoon of the new year.
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases via Flickr
This transmission electron micrograph shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles isolated from a patient suffering from COVID-19. The image was captured and enhanced with color at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Maryland.
Pharmacist Aurora intentionally removed COVID-19 vaccines from the refrigerator twice; 57 people received less effective doses, 500 ruined doses – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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‘Use or Lose’: Some Janesville Police Get COVID-19 Vaccines – Janesville Gazette
More prisoners in Rock County prison test positive for COVID-19; some rejection tests – Janesville Gazette
State faces challenges to renew extended unemployment benefits under new coronavirus relief plan – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Year of the Plague – The New Yorker
Over 950,000 people activated the COVID-19 – WSAW-TV exhibition app
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Quotable
“We are health. … Just because we don’t work in a hospital, we don’t work in a clinic, we are part of the healthcare system. “
Greenfield fire chief Jon Cohn, speaking to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about why he believes the state should prioritize vaccination for SME workers
Data to be observed
WisContext offers these views of Wisconsin COVID-19 statistics. New documented COVID-19 infections and test positivity rates are far below the peak before Thanksgiving. The state has also seen fewer COVID-19 patients hospitalized since mid-November, now hovering at mid-October levels.
Calculate your exposure risk
In Wisconsin, even small meetings can pose a great risk of exposure to coronavirus, according to a national tool that estimates the danger by the size of the meeting and the county in which it is held. Data scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Stanford University developed the tool, which you can find here.
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