Wisconsin pharmacist to plead guilty to trying to mess up COVID-19 vaccine doses

(Reuters) – A Wisconsin pharmacist has agreed to plead guilty to deliberately trying to spoil hundreds of doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in an attempt to render them ineffective, the US Department of Justice said.

Steven Brandenburg, 46, is charged with two counts of attempted tampering with consumer products and reckless disregard of the risk of another person being put in danger of death or bodily harm, according to the ministry statement. Justice.

He told bit.ly/3qUNXVI that he believed in various “conspiracy theories” and was skeptical of vaccines in general and Moderna’s vaccine in particular.

The US Food and Drug Administration has found Moderna’s vaccine safe and effective.

Brandenburg signed a plea agreement to plead guilty to the charges, each of which carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, the statement added.

In late December, he intentionally removed a box of COVID-19 vaccine during two successive night shifts from a refrigerator at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wis., So he could ruin its effectiveness, the statement said.

He left them outside for several hours before putting them back in the refrigerator for use by the clinic the next day, the statement said, adding that 57 people had already received doses of the vaccine from those vials before his behavior was discovered.

Moderna’s vaccine should be stored and shipped frozen but does not require ultra-cold temperatures and can be stored for 30 days in standard temperature refrigerators.