Wisconsin authorities on Thursday arrested a pharmacist suspected of intentionally ruining hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine by taking them out of the refrigerator for two nights.
According to the Grafton police department, former pharmacist lawyer Aurora Health was arrested on suspicion of reckless danger, adulteration of prescription drugs and criminal damage to property, the Associated Press reported.
Jeff Bahr, president of Aurora Healthcare Medical Group, said Thursday during a Zoom press conference that an already fired pharmacy technician removed 57 Modern vaccine vials from cold storage, enough for about 570 doses, and denatured them or made them less effective and even ineffective.
Health workers used denatured vaccine doses to inoculate 57 people. Bahr said the doses were less effective and potentially ineffective.
“In the hours that followed, the clinical leaders met,” Bahr said. “And, based on the information available, it was determined that the vaccine could still be administered on the morning of December 26, given the 12-hour viability period after it was withdrawn from refrigeration.”
The AP reported that authorities issued a statement saying the suspect was in jail, but did not disclose personal information because he has not yet been formally charged.
“The pharmacist responsible for removing the vials stated that it was an unintentional error that occurred while the individual was accessing other items from the same refrigerator,” said Bahr, who added that the suspect confessed that the withdrawal was intentional.
When asked about the pharmacist’s reason for removing the doses from the refrigeration, Bahr said Aurora was unable to comment and deferred questions to local authorities.
The Hill contacted Grafton police but received no response immediately.
“We continue to believe that vaccination is our way out of the pandemic. We are more than disappointed that the actions of this individual result in a delay of more than 500 people receiving the vaccine, “the health system said in a statement.