The male health worker has not been officially appointed. A list of inmates at the Ozaukee County Jail shows that Steven Bandenburg, 46, was appointed Thursday by the same charges. Brandenburg is also listed as an authorized pharmacist in Wisconsin
Police have arrested a Wisconsin pharmacist accused of deliberately smashing 57 bottles of the Modern COVID-19 vaccine out of a refrigerator and leaving them out overnight before 57 people were given the “ineffective” dose.
Grafton police reported that the former employee of Grafton’s Advocate Health Hospital Aurora was arrested Thursday afternoon on first-degree charges that endangered safety, adulterated prescription drugs and criminal damage to property.
The male health worker has not been officially appointed. A list of inmates at the Ozaukee County Jail shows that Steven Bandenburg, 46, received the reservation Thursday on the same charges.
Brandenburg is also listed as an authorized pharmacist in Wisconsin.
Police began investigating the incident at the hospital on Wednesday, but have not yet defined the reason. It is estimated that the value of damaged vaccines ranges from $ 8,000 to $ 11,000.
The suspect’s arrest comes on the same day that Wisconsin health officials revealed that 57 people were given the ineffective dose of the vaccine after it was ‘deliberately’ broken down.
Dr. Jeff Bahr, president of Aurora Health Care Medical Group in Wisconsin, said Thursday that the culprit had not only removed the vials from the refrigerator Friday night, as first thought, but had also done so on Thursday at the night: he put them back in the fridge the next morning. before anyone noticed.
The network was closed to the suspect when a pharmaceutical technician discovered the vials in the refrigerator on Saturday morning.
Because hospital officials were unaware that they had also been left out the night before, some of the doses were supposed to be okay and were given to 57 people before the rest were ruled out.
Aurora Grafton Medical Center is now working with Moderna to determine how affected people can be safely vaccinated.
The medical center originally thought the doses “were inadvertently withdrawn from a pharmacy refrigerator overnight,” but on Wednesday said the culprit had acted “intentionally” and fired him, while Grafton police and the FBI initiated an investigation.
Police arrested a Wisconsin pharmacist accused of deliberately damaging 57 vials of the Modern vaccine by taking them out of a refrigerator and leaving them outside overnight before 57 people were given the “ineffective” dose. Aurora Medical Center in Grafton
Bahr gave a press conference via Zoom Thursday, where he revealed that the culprit was a pharmacist in the hospital and gave more details about the saga.
He said a pharmacy technician first discovered that 57 vials of the Modern vaccine had been left out of the fridge where they were stored in the early hours of Saturday.
The technician returned the vials to the refrigerator and reported the incident to his superiors.
Bahr said the responsible pharmacist stated at first that they had simply made an “unintentional mistake” in leaving them out of the fridge when accessing other items in the same unit.
The vaccine can be kept out of the refrigerator for up to 12 hours before it is ineffective.
Based on the belief that the withdrawal was accidental and that the vials had been out of the fridge for less than that time, the hospital’s clinical leaders “determined that the vaccines could still be administered” that morning.
A total of 57 people received the first dose of the Modern vaccine on the morning of Dec. 26 at Grafton Aurora Medical Center.
The remaining roads were discarded after being “ineffective”.
Dr. Jeff Bahr, president of the Aurora Health Care Medical Group in Wisconsin, revealed Thursday that the culprit in the destruction had not only removed the vials from cooling Friday night as first thought, but had also done so. the night before, before putting them back in the fridge before they get caught
But after an internal review, hospital staff became “increasingly suspicious” of the pharmacist’s behavior over the next few days, according to Bahr.
He was suspended before finally admitting “after several interviews” for “intentionally removing” vials from the refrigerator.
The pharmacist also admitted that he had removed the vials from the fridge and left them out Thursday night, but that he had returned them to the fridge on Friday morning before anyone saw them.
That meant the roads were really ineffective or ineffective, Bahr said.
Bahr insisted that there is “no evidence” that the ineffective doses may have harmed the people who were given them and the hospital is working with Moderna to formulate a plan on how an effective dose can be given to those affected with security.
“The 57 have been warned,” Bahr said.
“There is no evidence that vaccines cause any harm that is not potentially less effective or ineffective.
“Modern assured us that there are no safety issues with administering a vaccine that has been out of the fridge too long. We will partner with them and the FDA to find out a strategy on the future vaccination of the 57 affected individuals.” .
The head of the hospital also said he was confident that no road other than 57 had broken down because the hospital had not received any dose before the day in question.
Nor is there “evidence” that they handled the vaccine in any way other than removing it from the fridge, Bahr said, while trying to reassure people that it was a “bad actor rather than a bad one.”
Grafton police reported that the former employee of the Advocate Hospital Aurora Health Hospital in Grafton was arrested Thursday afternoon on first-degree charges that endangered safety, adulterated prescription drugs and criminal damage to property
Police and federal authorities began an investigation Wednesday after the Wisconsin health care system said the employee had admitted to deliberately leaking 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Aurora Medical Center first reported that the doses were broken on Saturday, saying they had been accidentally left unrefrigerated overnight by an Aurora Medical Center employee in Grafton.
The health system said Wednesday that vaccine doses were deliberately damaged.
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Aurora said the employee involved “acknowledged that he intentionally removed the vaccine from the refrigerator.”
Aurora said she fired the employee and referred the matter to authorities.
‘We continue to believe that vaccination is our way out of the pandemic. We are more than disappointed that this individual’s actions result in a delay of more than 500 people receiving the vaccine, ”the statement said.
Police and federal authorities began an investigation Wednesday.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin continued to rise after submerging in early December.
The State Department of Health Services reported 3,810 recently confirmed cases on Thursday, marking the third consecutive day of increased daily infections.
Now the state has seen 481,102 cases.
COVID-19 was a factor in 41 more deaths, bringing the overall death toll in the state to 4,859. The survival rate remained unchanged at 99%.
