Pharmacist accused of destroying vaccines: No previous discipline
According to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, he has had his pharmacist license since 1997.
GRAFTON, Wis. – A pharmacist remains in Ozaukee County Jail after being arrested on Thursday, December 31. Police say the 46-year-old man admitted to intentionally destroying vials of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Aurora Medical Center in Grafton.
The Grafton man has been a pharmacist in Wisconsin for decades. It will not be formally charged until next week due to the New Year’s holiday; FOX6 News will not name it until then for that reason.
The doubts remain on Friday, January 1, as to why the 46-year-old man destroyed 570 doses of the Modern vaccine.
“We are not really able to make judgments about the reason at this point,” said Dr. Jeff Bahr, president of Aurora Health Care Medical Group.
Bahr said a pharmacy technician first discovered 57 vials of vaccine outside the refrigerator on the morning of December 26.
The suspect initially told supervisors that he had accidentally removed the bottles. However, several days later, he admitted to deliberately leaving them out on two occasions – December 25th and 25th – making them ineffective.
“We were able to adapt very, very quickly to the current situation. We were able to obtain additional vaccines from other locations in our system,” said Bahr.
Aurora Medical Center in Grafton
Aurora is handing the investigation over to the FBI, FDA and local officials. Grafton police arrested the suspect at his home on Thursday, December 31.
Darlene Scow watched her neighbor be taken into custody.
“It’s awful. You can’t answer for someone who has a twisted mind. You just can’t answer that,” said Scow.
Grafton Police Department
According to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, the suspect has had his pharmacist license since 1997, with no record of previous investigations or disciplinary actions.
Now the 46-year-old is unemployed and in prison, pending several criminal charges. These charges include recklessly jeopardizing security and criminal property damage.
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Fifty-seven people in the hospital received vaccines from those 57 vials in question, before discovering they were useless.
The authorities say these doses pose no health risk to those who received them.
Pharmacist arrested after COVID-19 vaccines intentionally left out
Fifty-seven people received coronavirus vaccines taken twice from a refrigerator at Aurora Grafton Medical Center and left out in an intentional act, Aurora said on Thursday.