CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 18: The COVID-19 vaccine is stored at -80 degrees Celsius in the pharmacy at Roseland Community Hospital on December 18, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images)
TO Newsroom
UPDATED 12:00 PM PT – Friday, February 5, 2021
Florida police are looking for a man who stole a car containing 30 ampoules of COVID-19 vaccine. According to Plant City authorities, a man wearing a light-colored hood stole the vehicle from the parking lot at Strawberry Festival Grounds on Wednesday.
STOLEN VACCINES: The police were looking for the stolen car from Plant City that had bottles of Covid vaccine in it that were to be administered at the Strawberry Grounds Festival. Information about the car below and the person of interest: pic.twitter.com/w9eWUlWwQi
– Jennifer Titus (@ jenntitus10) February 4, 2021
Officials said the $ 10,000 doses were kept in the vehicle before being distributed to the city’s vaccination center.
Captain Jerry Stwan of the Plant City Police Department said he believed a person walking there saw an opportunity murder and then stole the car.
“Whether it was intentional or just accidental theft of vaccines, I’m sure there will be lessons learned for better safety measures for these vaccines,” Stwan said. “They are very precious to many people in our state.”
Officials have issued a national alert and the investigation is ongoing.