Police and federal authorities in the US are investigating after a Wisconsin health center said an employee admitted deliberately spoiling 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Aurora Medical Center, in Grafton, first reported that the doses had gone bad on Saturday because an employee accidentally left them out of the refrigerator overnight. However, on Wednesday, it said the doses had been deliberately tainted.
Police in Grafton, about 20 miles north of Milwaukee, said the department, the FBI and the Food and Drug Administration were investigating the case.
Police said they had been notified of the alleged tampering on Wednesday evening, but no other information would be released immediately. They refused to say if any arrests had been made.
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In a statement late on Wednesday, Aurora said the employee concerned “acknowledged that they had deliberately removed the vaccine from the refrigerator.” Aurora said it fired the person in question and referred the matter to authorities. The statement said nothing about a possible motive for the action.
“We continue to believe that vaccination is our way out of the pandemic. We are more than disappointed that this person’s actions will result in a delay of more than 500 people getting their vaccine, ”the statement said.