GRAFTON (WKOW) 鈥� Fifty-seven people received vaccines that had been intentionally spoiled by a staff member at Aurora Medical Clinic in Grafton.
No ill effects are expected for the people who got the doses, said Dr. Jeff Bahr, president of Aurora Health Care Medical Group at a press conference Thursday.
Approximately 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine spoiled after a staff member at the Aurora Medical Clinic in Grafton intentionally left them out of the refrigerator.
A pharmacy technician at the medical center found 57 vials of the vaccine left out on Saturday, Dec. 26. The technician put the vials back into the refrigerator where it belonged and then reported the issue to supervisors.
Managers at Aurora spoke to the pharmacist who left the vials out. That person initially said that they had done it by mistake when trying to get something else out of the fridge.
Clinical leaders decided that the vaccine was still safe to administer.
However, Aurora continued to investigate the matter and learned that the staff member had left the vaccine out intentionally.
The pharmacist also admitted to taking the same vials of vaccine out of the refrigerator overnight from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day.
By the time Aurora learned this fact, the vials of spoiled vaccine had already been used to vaccinate 57 people.
Bahr repeatedly emphasized that no ill effects are expected from getting a spoiled vaccine. Once a vaccine has been left out too long, it loses its potency.
The 57 people who got the spoiled vaccine likely received less effective or ineffective doses. Aurora said it has contacted everyone given the spoiled vaccine.
Aurora says it is working with Moderna and the Food and Drug Administration to figure out how those 57 people should be properly vaccinated against COVID-19.
Aurora fired the pharmacist who left the vials out.
Authorities are investigating.
