Wisconsin health worker ‘deliberately spoiled 500 Covid vaccine doses’

Police and federal authorities in the US are investigating after a Wisconsin health centre said an employee admitted to deliberately spoiling 500 doses of coronavirus vaccine.

Aurora medical centre, in Grafton, first reported that the doses had been spoiled on Saturday, saying a staff member had accidentally left them out of refrigeration overnight. On Wednesday, however, it said the doses appeared to have been spoiled deliberately.

Police in Grafton, about 20 miles (32km) north of Milwaukee, said the department, the FBI and the Food and Drug Administration were investigating the case.

Police said they were notified of the alleged tampering on Wednesday night, but that no other information would be immediately released. They declined to say if any arrests had been made.

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In a statement late on Wednesday, Aurora said the employee involved “acknowledged that they intentionally removed the vaccine from refrigeration”. Aurora said it had fired the person in question and referred the matter to the 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 individual’s actions will result in a delay of more than 500 people receiving their vaccine,” the statement said.