A Wisconsin pharmacist admitted to trying to destroy hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccines because he falsely believed they were dangerous.
Steven Brandenburg, 46, faces up to 10 years in prison after agreeing to plead guilty to two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products with reckless negligence for the risk of another person risking death or personal injury. The plea bargain was released Tuesday.
“Tampering with vaccine doses in the midst of a global health crisis requires a strong response, as reflected by the serious accusations that the United States brought today,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Department of Justice Civil Division in a news release.
Brandenburg was working two night shifts as a hospital pharmacist in Grafton, north of Milwaukee, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when he took a box of Modern vaccines out of a freezer for several hours to try to spoil them.
On December 26, about 57 people received doses of these specific vaccines.
Prosecutors said they were still trying to determine whether these people received ineffective or harmful vaccines as a result of Brandenburg’s actions.
Brandenburg admitted in his plea agreement to be a conspiracy believer and that he is “skeptical of vaccines in general and the Modern COVID-19 vaccine specifically.”
The Grafton Police Department said earlier that the pharmacist mistakenly believed that the vaccine could alter people’s DNA – which it cannot.
COVID-19 vaccines, including Moderna, have been rigorously tested for safety and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. More than 23.5 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the United States as of Tuesday.
“Distributing the COVID-19 vaccine is critical to overcoming this pandemic, which continues to end lives and bring down our economy,” said Attorney General Matthew D. Krueger. “As these charges show, the Department of Justice will prosecute anyone – and especially any medical professional – who tamper with the vaccine.”