The health worker has not been officially appointed. A list of detainees at Ozaukee County Prison shows that 46-year-old Steven Bandenburg was booked on Thursday for the same charges. Brandenburg is also listed as a licensed pharmacist in Wisconsin
Police have arrested a Wisconsin pharmacist accused of deliberately breaking 57 vials of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, removing them from a refrigerator and leaving them out overnight before 57 people received the “ineffective” dose.
Grafton police said the former employee of the Aurora Health Hospital in Grafton was arrested on Thursday afternoon on charges of first-degree reckless endangerment, adulteration of a prescription drug and property damage.
The health worker has not been officially appointed. A list of detainees at Ozaukee County Prison shows that 46-year-old Steven Bandenburg was booked on Thursday for the same charges.
Brandenburg is also listed as a licensed pharmacist in Wisconsin.
Police began investigating the incident at the hospital on Wednesday, but have yet to establish a reason. The value of pampered vaccines is estimated at about $ 8,000 to $ 11,000.
The arrest of the suspect takes place on the same day, Wisconsin health officials revealed that 57 people received the ineffective dose of the vaccine after it was “deliberately” broken.
Dr. Jeff Bahr, president of Aurora Health Care Medical Group in Wisconsin, said Thursday that the culprit not only took the bottles out of the refrigerator Friday night, as he first thought, but did so on Thursday night – bringing back refrigerate them the next morning before anyone notices.
The net was closed to the suspect when a pharmacist discovered the bottles in the refrigerator on Saturday morning.
Because hospital officials did not know they had been dropped off the night before, some of the doses were thought to be good and 57 people were given before the rest were discarded.
Aurora Grafton Medical Center is now working with Moderna to determine how affected people can now be safely vaccinated.
The medical center initially believed the doses “were accidentally removed from the pharmacy refrigerator overnight,” but on Wednesday said the culprit acted “intentionally” and fired him, while police Grafton and the FBI launched an investigation.
Police have arrested a Wisconsin pharmacist accused of deliberately smearing 57 ampoules of the Moderna vaccine, taking them out of a refrigerator and leaving them outside overnight before 57 people receive the “ineffective” dose. Aurora Medical Center in Grafton
Bahr held a press conference through Zoom on Thursday, where he revealed that the culprit was a pharmacist at the hospital and provided more details about the saga.
He said a pharmacy technician first discovered that 57 ampoules of the Moderna vaccine had been left outside the refrigerator where they were stored in the early hours of Saturday.
The technician returned the bottles to the refrigerator and reported the incident to their superiors.
Bahr said the responsible pharmacist initially claimed they simply made an “unintentional mistake” in leaving them out of the refrigerator when accessing other items in the same unit.
The vaccine can be kept out of the refrigerator for up to 12 hours before it becomes ineffective.
Based on the belief that the removal was accidental and that the vials came out of the refrigerator less than this time, the clinical leaders at the hospital “determined that the vaccines could still be administered” that morning.
A total of 57 people received the first dose of Moderna vaccine on the morning of December 26 at Aurora Grafton Medical Center.
The rest of the vials were then discarded after being “reduced ineffective”.
Dr. Jeff Bahr, president of Aurora Health Care Medical Group in Wisconsin, revealed Thursday that the culprit behind the destruction not only took the bottles out of the refrigerator overnight Friday, as he first thought, but did so at night. previous – before returning them to the refrigerator before being caught
But according to an internal analysis, hospital staff became “increasingly suspicious” about the pharmacist’s behavior in the coming days, according to Bahr.
He was suspended before finally admitting “after several interviews” that he “intentionally” removed the bottles from the refrigerator.
The pharmacist then admitted that he took the bottles out of the fridge and left them out overnight on Thursday, but returned them to the fridge on Friday morning before anyone could see.
That meant the bottles were actually ineffective or ineffective, Bahr said.
Bahr insisted there was “no evidence” that the ineffective doses could have harmed those given, and the hospital is working with Moderna to formulate a plan for how those affected can be given an effective dose under conditions. of safety.
“The 57 were announced,” Bahr said.
“There is no evidence that vaccines have caused them any harm other than potentially less effective or ineffective.
“Moderna assured us that there are no safety issues with the administration of a vaccine that has been out of the fridge for too long. We will partner with them and the FDA to establish a strategy for the future vaccination of the 57 affected people.
The head of the hospital also said that he is confident that no bottles other than the 57 bottles were pampered, because the hospital had not received doses before the day in question.
There is also “no evidence” that he handled the vaccine in any other way, other than if he took it out of the refrigerator, Bahr said, as he tried to reassure people that it was the work of a “bad actor.” , rather than a bad trial ”.
Grafton police say former employee of the Aurfate Health Hospital in Grafton was arrested Thursday afternoon on charges of first-degree reckless security, adulteration of a prescription drug and property damage.
Police and federal authorities launched an investigation Wednesday after the Wisconsin health system said the employee admitted to deliberately breaking down 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Aurora Medical Center reported for the first time that the doses were pampered on Saturday, saying they were accidentally left without refraction overnight by an employee at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton.
The health system said on Wednesday that vaccine doses had been deliberately altered.
In a statement late Wednesday, Aurora said the employee involved “admitted to intentionally removing the vaccine from the refrigerator.”
Aurora said she fired the employee and sent the matter to the authorities.
“We continue to believe that vaccination is our way out of the pandemic. We are more than disappointed that the actions of this individual will result in a delay of over 500 people receiving the vaccine, “the statement said.
Police and federal authorities launched an investigation on Wednesday.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin continued to rise after the sinking in early December.
The State Department of Health Services reported 3,810 newly confirmed cases on Thursday, marking the third consecutive day of increasing daily infections.
The state has now seen 481,102 cases.
COVID-19 was a factor in another 41 deaths, bringing the state’s total death toll to 4,859. The survival rate remained unchanged at 99%.
