Two Memorial Health System pharmacists were fired after one of them took COVID-19 vaccines home to her family and mixed doses inappropriately at the health system's hospital in Decatur, Ill., according to a March 3 report from the Chicago Tribune.
Recently disclosed emails from the Illinois Department of Public Health reveal that a Memorial Health System pharmacist took COVID-19 doses home from Decatur Memorial Hospital and administered them to her family in December, when they weren't eligible under state guidelines to receive them. They also show she pooled doses in Pfizer vials to draw more vaccine than the mandated six doses.
A Memorial Health System spokesperson confirmed to the Tribune that the pharmacist diverted two COVID-19 vaccine doses, but declined to provide information on the other pharmacist's involvement with the incident.
The spokesperson also said the health system became aware of the misconduct in January, and then it reported the incident to the local health department, the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the body that oversees pharmacists’ licenses.
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