[ad_1]
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WMTV) – Wisconsin police said they arrested the fired hospital worker on suspicion of intentionally spoiling the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Grafton Police Department said the former pharmacist Advocate Aurora Health was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment, tampering with a prescription drug and criminal damage to property. The department said in a press release Thursday that he was in the Ozaukee County Jail.
Police did not identify the pharmacist, saying he had not yet been formally charged. Grafton PD noted that the pharmacist is a resident of Grafton.
Fifty-seven doses of the ineffective vaccine were administered. Officials noted that there are no negative side effects to these vaccines administered, but the vaccine will not be effective in preventing the virus.
At a press conference Thursday, officials said an Aurora Advocate pharmacist removed vaccines from a refrigerator twice last week. The employee was fired and the police opened an investigation Wednesday evening. The health care system has also notified the Department of Health Services and the FBI.
The health system said that originally it was believed the pharmacy technician left the vials out of the refrigeration early in the morning of December 26 and then reported the incident to their superiors. Officials determined that the vaccine could still be given the same morning. The pharmacist said it was an “inadvertent mistake” when working with other materials.
After reviewing the incident, the staff member admitted to intentionally removing and then returning the vaccine overnight between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The president of Aurora Health Care did not say how long the vaccines were on hold. No vaccine was administered on December 24 and 25. The 57 ineffective doses were administered on December 26 and all people who had been vaccinated with these vaccines were notified.
“It is clear that this situation involved a bad actor as opposed to a bad process,” said Dr Jeff Bahr. “We have certainly used this to have additional dialogue and to ensure learning around our processes.
The president of the health system said there was no evidence that any other vaccine vials were tampered with in the facility. There is also no confirmed reason.
DHS Secretary-designate Andrea Palm said she was disappointed that any COVID-19 vaccine was wasted in Wisconsin.
“As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, our healthcare workers are eager to protect themselves against COVID-19 through vaccination,” Palm said. “They are at the forefront of our fight against this disease and have seen the terrible consequences that can result from contracting COVID-19.”
Palm said DHS had worked closely with Aurora on the investigation. She also said DHS will continue to work with health care agencies to get as many vaccines administered as possible.
Police estimate the value of the damaged doses to be between $ 8,000 and $ 11,000.
Copyright 2020 WMTV. All rights reserved.
[ad_2]
Source link