Pharmacist Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges for Willful Sabotage of COVID Vaccines

The suspect told investigators he was skeptical of the Moderna vaccine.

A Wisconsin pharmacist pleaded guilty to two federal charges on Tuesday and admitted he had tampered with more than 500 doses of a coronavirus vaccine, the Justice Department said.

Steven Brandenburg, 46, of Grafton, Wis., Faces up to 20 years in person on two counts of attempting to falsify consumer products with reckless disregard for the risk of another person being in danger of death or bodily injury, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Brandenburg admitted to removing 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine from the cold room at Advocate Aurora Health Hospital on December 24 and 25, leaving them to rot overnight, according to federal prosecutors. The suspect said he was skeptical of vaccines in general and the Moderna vaccine in particular, according to the plea agreement.

“Fake vaccine doses in the midst of a global health crisis calls for a strong response, as evidenced by the serious charges brought today by the United States,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Brian Boynton of the division Civil Justice Ministry in a statement. .

Brandenburg’s lawyer declined to comment on the deal.

“The FDA has ensured that the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine meets the agency’s stringent standards for quality, safety and efficacy,” said Catherine A. Hermsen, FDA deputy commissioner of investigations criminals, in a press release.

About 57 doses of the tampered vials were distributed to patients, according to federal prosecutors.

Brandenburg was arrested on New Years Eve. He was conditionally released at his home four days later after Wisconsin prosecutors said they needed more time for Moderna’s test results to determine the exact damage the pharmacist caused when he tampered with the 57 vials, each of which contained approximately 100 doses.

Last week, Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol said testing was still ongoing, but “the best evidence at this point is that the vaccine remains viable.”

Brandenburg’s sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.