Pharmacist accused of trying to ruin COVID-19 vaccine

Wisconsin pharmacist accused of attempting to spoil dozens of vials of COVID-19 vaccine has been charged with attempted property damage

MADISON, Wisconsin – A Wisconsin pharmacist accused of attempting to defrost and spoil dozens of vials of COVID-19 vaccine was charged Tuesday with attempted property damage, and prosecutors warned that more serious charges could follow if tests show that the doses were ruined.

Police arrested Steven Brandenburg, 46, on Dec.31 as part of an investigation into how 57 vials of Moderna vaccine were left for hours outside a refrigerator at Advocate Aurora Health in Grafton, a suburb of Milwaukee. The vials contained enough vaccine to inoculate more than 500 people.

Detectives wrote in court documents that Brandenburg is a recognized conspiracy theorist who believed the vaccine would mutate recipients’ DNA. Experts said there was no truth to claims that COVID-19 vaccines can genetically modify humans.

According to a criminal complaint, Brandenburg told a detective that he removed the vials from the refrigerator for three hours on December 24 and then replaced them. The next day he took the bottles out of the refrigerator again. This time, he left them out for nine hours, believing the vaccine would be rendered ineffective if not refrigerated for 12 hours. But he said a pharmacy technician found the vials and put them back in the refrigerator.

A Moderna doctor told investigators the vaccine could remain viable at room temperature for 24 hours, according to the complaint. Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol said during Brandenburg’s initial court appearance on Tuesday that he was having the doses tested to determine their effectiveness and that more serious charges could be brought if the actions of the Brandenburg made vaccine doses ineffective.

Brandenburg faces up to nine months in prison and a fine of $ 10,000 if convicted of attempted property damage. Her lawyer, Jason Baltz, pleaded not guilty on her behalf during the court appearance. Baltz declined to comment when reached by phone ahead of the hearing.

Brandenburg has spoken only once, answering “yes sir” when Judge Paul Malloy warned him to continue to meet his bail conditions, which include not working as a pharmacist, not exempting him. medication and have no contact with Aurora employees.

Malloy has set Brandenburg’s next court appearance on March 18.

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This story has been corrected to show that Brandenburg has been charged with attempted property damage, not property damage.