Nurse Practitioner Stole Vaccine, Detroit Official Says, But Why?

METRO DETROIT, MI — A nurse practitioner is accused of stealing two syringes of ready-to-inject COVID-19 vaccine at Detroit’s drive-thru mass vaccination clinic, city officials said.

Hakim Berry, the city’s chief operating officer, told the Detroit Free Press the nurse appears to be employed by a staffing agency providing health care workers for the mass clinic and had been at the site for a few weeks.

Some 109,000 shots have been given at the site at the TCF Center since it opened in mid-January, and this is the first known incident of a theft of vaccine, Berry said. Another staff member video-recorded the nurse as she slipped the pre-filled syringes in her pocket Monday, according to the Free Press and other news outlets.

Berry told the Free Press the Moderna vaccine theft was “totally odd.”

“It really didn't make any sense with the amount of vaccine coming into the area,” he said. “I don't understand her motive.”

Detroit police are investigating. The vaccine was taken as evidence and cannot be administered. » Read more on the Detroit Free Press

‘Shark Tank’ Helps Dearborn Native

Dearborn native Samantha John credits her 2020 pitch on “Shark Tank” with giving a 500 percent boost to Hopscotch, an educational coding app aimed at young and beginning coders. She and her business partner have cornered the children’s market with the easy-to-use app that allows kids to drag and drop blocks of coding as they build games they can share with others, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Her pitch to Sharks Lori Greiner, Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban and the crew: “You guys were on top of the world, you guys were dominating for kids’ programming language. When it comes to kids in school, there are some alternatives, but Hopscotch is the go-to name.” » Read more on the Detroit Free Press

Metro Detroit Headlines

• Stimulus Check Argument Triggers Shooting: One man is hospitalized in serious condition and another is in custody, Detroit police say, via news station WDIV.
• 200 Oakland County Teens Quarantined After Parties: Positive coronavirus tests — and nearly two dozen active COVID-19 cases — tied to large social gatherings in recent weeks led to a massive quarantine of Oxford High School students, via news station WXYZ.
• Students Address Food Insecurity: Wayne State University students Alyssa Rogers and Emily Eicher launched the Detroit Community Fridge to address growing food insecurity resulting from pandemic job losses and business closures, via news station WXYZ.

“We have got to slow down the traffic, our children are not safe and I would just say to the residents of the city: Drive as if it was your kid. There is way too much speeding in these neighborhoods.”

— Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on an $11.5 million project to install 4,500 speed bumps

SPORTS TALK: For Michigan high school wrestlers, it all comes down to what happens in individual and team wrestling districts starting Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. MLive.com has the 2021 wrestling power rankings that take a look at who’s most likely to make it to the medal podium. Also, the Detroit Lions and running back Jamaal Williams have agreed to a two-year deal up worth up to $7.5 million, according to the NFL.

WEATHER IN A WORD: Dank.

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