Wisconsin pharmacist accused of wasting COVID-19 vaccine doses suspended license



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Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office / AP / Shutterstock Steven brandenburg

A now-licensed pharmacist in Wisconsin has had his license suspended by a state board after being accused of intentionally wasting more than 500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

According to an order issued by the Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board obtained by PEOPLE, Steven Brandenburg, 46, will not be licensed to practice pharmacy in the state or work in a pharmacy in any capacity while the suspension is in effect. force.

The order stated that Brandenburg was first licensed as a pharmacist on August 22, 1997, and that he voluntarily accepted the suspension “in order to focus on the intended criminal case (s)” against him.

Brandenburg was working as a pharmacist at a medical facility in Grafton when he allegedly removed doses of COVID-19 vaccine from refrigeration units on December 24 and 25 with the alleged intention of rendering them ineffective, according to the order.

Brandenburg, who worked at Aurora Medical Center, has since been removed from his post, according to the order.

His lawyer, Jason Baltz, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

RELATED: Wisconsin Pharmacist Charged With Destroying COVID-19 Vaccines Allegedly ‘Conspiracy Theorist’

Brandenburg was arrested on three counts – reckless endangering safety, adulteration of a prescription drug and criminal damage to property – and released from jail after posting $ 10,000 bail, records confirm. line.

At a court hearing on January 4, Brandenburg was asked not to plead the three recommended charges on which it was originally held, with authorities scrambling to determine whether the vials were indeed ruined. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Brandenburg’s fees could be changed based on the results of tests performed by Moderna on contaminated vials, depending on the outlet.

If the doses were not, in fact, ruined, most of these charges would be dismissed.

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In divorce papers filed the day before Brandenburg’s arrest and obtained by WISN, Brandenburg’s wife Gretchen Brandenburg alleged that her husband is a “recognized conspiracy theorist” who has rental units where he stores. “Bulk food and weapons”.

“I was so concerned about my safety and that of the children, that I left town for a while,” she wrote in the file.

The divorce petition also referred to a conversation the couple had when they dropped off a water purifier, a large bucket of powdered milk and two buckets of 30-day emergency food to her and their children. .

“He told me that if I didn’t understand now that he was right and the world is falling apart around us, I was in serious denial,” the wife told the judge, adding that Brandenburg believed that “the government is planning cyber attacks and plans to shut down the power grid.”

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