Arrest made in stolen H1N1 vaccine

BY JEREMY PAWLOSKI | The Olympian • Published November 13, 2009

Comments (0)

The Thurston County Sheriff's Office has made an arrest in the case involving the theft of two vials of H1N1 vaccine from an unlocked medical refrigerator at Providence SoundHomeCare & Hospice in the 3400 block of South Bay Road.

Alissa K. Yoder, 37, of West Liberty Ohio, was arrested at around 3 p.m. Thursday, said Thurston County Chief Criminal Deputy James Chamberlain. She had been hired as a contractor to work at the hospice.

A detective arrested Yoder based on statements by two other employees that Yoder had told them she was responsible for the theft, according to Chamberlain. Yoder has not yet given a statement to detectives, Chamberlain said. Yoder had access to the medical refrigerator after the hospice's normal business hours, Chamberlain added.

Officials at the hospice reported the theft to the sheriff's office on Monday. There were 10 doses of the vaccine in each vial. The estimated value of the stolen vaccine is $2,000, according to the sheriff's office.

Additionally, a third vial of H1N1 vaccine located in the medical refrigerator had been compromised around the time of the theft, and was missing one or two doses, according to the sheriff's office.

The stolen vaccine has not been recovered, Chamberlain said.