A suburban pharmacist in Milwaukee who allegedly spilled hundreds of doses of COVID-19 by taking it out of the refrigerator has been arrested, authorities said Thursday.
The actions of the now sacked employee resulted in 57 people receiving ineffective doses of vaccinations at the Aurora Health Hospital in Grafton, hospital officials said. The Grafton police station said the suspect was arrested on the grounds of reckless threat, disregard of prescription drugs and criminal property damage.
Authorities did not determine a motive. The pharmacist has not been identified.
Boxes containing the Modern COVID-19 vaccine are ready to be shipped to the McKesson Distribution Center in Olive Branch, Miss. An employee at a hospital in Wisconsin deliberately took 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine out of a refrigerator, resulting in 500 doses being discarded, officials said. Wednesday. (AP Photo / Paul Sancya, Pool)
According to hospital officials, the unidentified pharmacist removed the 57 vials containing 500 doses of Moderna vaccine from the refrigerator overnight on December 24 and left them out for two nights. The doses were returned and then removed again.
Hundreds of doses were discarded as a result. Moderna said there are no health risks associated with spoiled doses, according to clinical leaders during a virtual news conference on Thursday.
A pharmacist technician discovered the bottles outside a refrigerator on Saturday and reported the incident, Dr. Jeff Bahr, president of Aurora Health Care Medical Group, said.
Hospital officials initially determined the incident was the result of human error and said the employee removed the vaccines to achieve something else in the refrigerator. But the employee eventually admitted that he deliberately took the vials out of the cold room because he was aware that it would be inefficient if used.
The Moderna vaccine can be stored for up to 12 hours at room temperature before it becomes viable. Clinicians administered several doses within the permissible window.
“We continued to vaccinate until the rest of the vaccine was discarded because it was rendered ineffective,” Bahr said.
The value of the spoiled doses ranged from $ 8,000 to $ 11,000, Grafton police said.
Andrea Palm, general manager of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said she was disappointed that COVID-19 vaccines were being wasted.
“As we have seen over the past few weeks, our health workers are eager to protect themselves from COVID-19 through vaccination,” she said. “Immediately after notification, DHS followed up Aurora and worked closely with them as they investigated the situation, reviewed their processes and implemented improvements.”
State Sen. Alberta Darling, who represents Grafton, called the incident “discouraging.”
“The doses are meant for frontline workers,” she tweeted. “This senseless act endangers them.”
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Bahr said the incident was the result of a ‘bad actor, as opposed to a bad process’. The incident was investigated by Grafton Police, the I and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the FBI.