GRAFTON, Wis. — An Ozaukee County clinic that discarded over 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine last week discovered the vials were taken out of a pharmacy refrigerator on purpose.
According to a news release, 57 vials of the vaccine were removed at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton. Officials originally believed the incident was due to “human error,” but the employee who took out the doses told officials they intentionally removed them from refrigeration.
Each vial had 10 doses of the vaccine, and over 500 doses were discarded as a result. The vaccine cannot be refrozen once thawed, but clinicians were able to administer some of the vaccine within the 12 hour post-refrigeration window.
The health care system said officials “continue to believe that vaccination is our way out of the pandemic” and that staff are “more than disappointed that this individual’s actions will result in a delay of more than 500 people receiving their vaccine.”
Aurora said the decision violated the provider’s values and that the person is no longer employed by the health care system. Authorities have also been contacted for further investigation.
COPYRIGHT 2020 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
