A Wisconsin hospital worker was fired for deliberately removing the COVID-19 vaccine from a refrigerator – forcing the hospital to drop more than 500 doses. Aurora-Grafton Medical Center, outside Milwaukee, said Wednesday that 57 bottles of Moderna vaccine had been removed from a pharmacy refrigerator and left overnight.
The hospital launched an investigation and was led to believe that an involuntary human error was to blame, CBS 2 Chicago reported. On Wednesday, the worker who was responsible admitted that he did it on purpose, said lawyer Aurora Health.
The hospital said it “notified the competent authorities for further investigation”.
“We continue to believe that vaccination is our way out of the pandemic,” Aurora Health’s lawyer said in a statement. “We are more than disappointed that this individual’s actions will lead to a delay of more than 500 people receiving the vaccine. This was a violation of our core values and the individual is no longer employed by us.”
Grafton police said “no comment” when Marissa Parra of CBS 2 called and asked if they were involved or investigating the incident.
Like the other vaccine approved for emergency use in the United States by Pfizer, the Moderna vaccine requires transport and initial storage at freezing temperatures, but can then be stored locally at more typical refrigeration temperatures for a few days before use.
Despite federal officials’ stated goal of immunizing 20 million Americans by the end of this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID Data Tracker, only about 12 million doses were distributed by Thursday morning. less than 3 million had actually been administered.
Officials with Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense and Operation Warp Speed - a military-led operation to deliver vaccines across the country – told reporters on Wednesday that slower-than-expected shootings could be due in part to a slowdown. gap in reporting, but acknowledged that not all vaccine doses reached their intended destinations.
Army General Gustave Perna, the chief officer of Operation Warp Speed, acknowledged that some of the doses were still “on the way”, as he spoke on Wednesday. However, he expressed confidence in the government’s efforts to inoculate Americans against coronavirus.
“Indeed, we are doing well, in my opinion, in distribution,” he said, contradicting CDC figures, saying on Wednesday that “more than 14 million doses of vaccine have been distributed.”
Audrey McNamara of CBSNews.com contributed to the report.