US Health Worker Sacked And Arrested For Deliberately Spoiling 500 Doses Of Covid Vaccine

A health worker in America has been arrested on suspicion of purposely ruining 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine.

The pharmacist from Milwaukee was originally sacked by his employer, before being arrested for taking the doses out of refrigeration for two nights - meaning they were spoiled.

It comes after leaders in Wisconsin have been asking for more doses of the vaccine for senior citizens and healthcare workers.

The pharmacist worked for Advocate Aurora Health in Grafton, a town about 20 miles away from Milwaukee. Police arrested him on suspicion of reckless endangerment, adulterating a prescription drug and criminal damage to property.

Wikimedia Commons/Royalbroil

In a press release, police said the suspect was in jail, but hasn't been charged yet. The man has not yet been identified and his motive remains unclear.

But detectives say the man knew the doses would be useless, and that anyone who was vaccinated with them would believe they were protected when they weren't.

Chief Medical Group Officer of Advocate Aurora Health Care, Jeff Bahr said on Thursday afternoon (31 December) that 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine were taken out of refrigeration on Christmas Eve. They were then put back in and taken out again overnight on 25 December into Saturday 26 December.

Facebook/Aurora Healthcare Medical Group

It was enough to innoculate 570 people.

A total of 57 people were given their first dose of the now-ineffective Moderna vaccine on the morning of 26 December at Aurora Medical Center Grafton.

Bahr said there is 'no evidence' the vaccine would be harmful, and the hospital is consulting with Moderna on how to go ahead and vaccinate them properly.

In a virtual press conference, Bahr said: "The 57 have been notified.

PA

"There is no evidence that the vaccines posed any harm to them other than being potentially less effective or ineffective.

"Moderna reassured us there are no safety concerns with administering a vaccine that has been out of the fridge too long. We will partner with them and the FDA to figure out a strategy on the future vaccination of the affected 57 individuals."

He added there's 'no evidence' that any other doses were tampered with, and said the incident was a case of a 'bad actor rather than a bad process.'

Topics: Coronavirus, US News, crime, Health

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

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