EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin – After the Grafton Aurora Medical Center employee admitted to purposely removing more than 500 Modern vaccines from refrigeration over the weekend. The president of the medical center released more information today.
Dr. Jeff Bahr began his statement today, assuring the public that vaccines are safe. He then explains that it was a pharmacist at the medical center who deliberately denatured the 57 vials over the weekend. Of these 57 vials, 57 doses were actually administered before the vaccines were considered less or ineffective. Dr. Bahr reaffirms that the individuals who received these doses were notified. It also says that Moderna confirmed that these doses will not harm anyone who receives them.
A few hours ago, the pharmacist was arrested on suspicion of the risk of reckless extinction, adulteration of a prescription drug and criminal damage to property. The reason, however, is not yet clear. The Grafton Police, the FBI and the Food and Drug Administration are now investigating the case. This event raised concerns about keeping these vaccines, as people wonder how it could have happened. Dr. Bahr shared his confidence in his processes, considering them solid. Dr. Bahr told WEAU,
“The first steps we took were to review our processes and identify any gaps that could have led to this incident. It was clear that this was a situation involving a bad actor as opposed to a bad process. We certainly took this as an opportunity to have an additional dialogue and learn about our processes. You know that we are, first of all, a safe and clinical company and we will remain so until now. “
Dr. Bahr says he is confident that the 57 bottles destroyed are the extent of the damage, no other vaccine has been tampered with. As about 500 doses had to be discarded, Dr. Bahr said that Aurora Medical Center was able to secure additional shipments of the Modern vaccine from other locations. He also said that Aurora Medical Center’s vaccination program, including the Grafton site, will proceed as planned.
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(AP) – Authorities arrested a suburban Milwaukee pharmacist suspected of deliberately spoiling hundreds of doses of the coronavirus vaccine by removing it from the refrigerator for two nights.
The Grafton Police Department said the former Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist was arrested on suspicion of danger, tampering with a prescription drug and criminal property damage.
The department said in a press release on Thursday that he was in prison. Police have not identified the pharmacist, claiming he has not yet been formally charged.
Defender Aurora Health Care, director of medical group Jeff Bahr, says the pharmacist deliberately removed 57 vials of the Modern vaccine from refrigeration overnight on December 24, returned them and then left them out again on the evening of December 25 .
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