Corona Daily 225: Out-of-the-Fridge Thinking

46-year-old Steven Brandenburg, wearing his hospital uniform, opened the fridge door. He once again looked behind him to make sure he was alone. His gloved hand took out a box of Moderna vaccine vials. Shutting the fridge, he scanned the room for a good place to hide them. A pile of scientific magazines lay in the corner. Brandenburg stuffed the box of vials behind them. In the semi-dark room, he checked the time on his smartphone. 18.39. That was good enough. He tiptoed out, closed the room, and headed home. Despite the rampage of the virus, nothing much should happen this week. It was Christmas eve.

*****

Next morning, he was back in the room. As a licensed pharmacist employed by the hospital, he had legitimate access to the room. But his heart was in his mouth. Fortunately, nothing had changed. The box of the vaccine vials was still in the corner behind the magazines. He checked the time. 09.38. Excellent. He gently picked up the box and kept it in the fridge, exactly from where he had dislodged it.

That same evening, he returned to the room and repeated yesterday’s procedure. He resisted the temptation to remove more boxes from the fridge. 500-600 was a good number to start with. This was working well. Post-Christmas, the hospital may get more crowded. He would make any necessary adjustments.

*****

Next morning, Steven Brandenburg was in for a shock. With gloves on, he was about to pick the box up from behind the magazines, but the box was gone. Bizarre. He opened the fridge to locate the cavity where the box had been. It had vanished. When he checked the phone for time, he saw a message asking him to meet the hospital director. It said the matter was urgent.

*****

On Monday, 28 December, the Aurora Medical center issued a press statement: “We learnt that about 50 vials of Moderna vaccine were inadvertently removed from a pharmacy refrigerator overnight. Our internal review determined that as a result of the unintended human error, the vials were not replaced after temporarily being removed to access other items. While some of the vaccine was administered within the approved 12-hour post-refrigeration window, most of it had to be discarded.”

*****

The pharmacist colleague who was bewildered to find the precious box in the corner continued to question Brandenburg. The review team kept probing him. Brandenburg had never played poker in his life. In two days, he broke down. He confessed in writing his act was intentional. FBI and FDA representatives were summoned. Brandenburg was sent to the Ozaukee County jail.

*****

Moderna vaccine, if kept outside the fridge for more than 12 hours, becomes useless. Once thawed, it can’t be refrozen. 57 people were unfortunately given shots that would probably be ineffective. Each of them was contacted, and the situation explained to them. Moderna scientists said the useless vaccines won’t have any adverse effect. The 57 people will need to be given the first shot once again. In total, more than 500 doses worth $11,000 had to be thrown away. In times where the state of Wisconsin was losing forty residents to Covid-19 every day, that was a significant loss.

*****

Brandenburg has been charged on three first degree counts: recklessly endangering safety, adulterating a prescription drug, and criminal damage to property. All three are serious felony charges that could put him behind bars for several years. As to why he planned the act of sabotage is not yet known.

*****

American hospitals are now thinking of keeping refrigerators in secured areas, installing CCTVs, limiting access.

In 2006, a group of British young men planned to carry liquid explosives disguised as soft drinks on several transatlantic flights. That plot was foiled. But till today, none of us is allowed to carry on flights a bottle of more than 100 ml in our handbags.

Small destructive acts of madmen can have long-term expensive ramifications.

Ravi