A Wisconsin pharmacist accused of deliberately sabotaging more than 500 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine allegedly told investigators that he tampered with the vials because he believed they were unsafe, according to new details revealed on Monday in court.
The Grafton Police Department issued a statement of probable cause revealing more details about Stephen Brandenburg’s arrest on December 31 at his home.
The 46-year-old pharmacist, whose license was granted in 1997, was “an admitted conspiracy theorist” and told investigators that he believed the Modern vaccine “was not safe for people and could harm them and alter their DNA,” Det . Sgt. Eric Sutherland said in the statement of probable cause.
Brandenburg gave “a complete confession that he had done just that. His intention was to destroy the drug. He did the things he was accused of,” Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol told a judge during Zoom’s videoconference.
There is no evidence to suggest that the COVID-19 vaccine alters people’s DNA. Some companies, such as Moderna and Pfizer, use mRNA technology that introduces a small part of the virus’s genetic code to teach the body how to fight the real virus. But the vaccine does not alter the person’s DNA in any way, according to Gavi of the Vaccine Alliance.
Grafton police said Brandenburg “intentionally” removed the bottles from the cold storage at Advocate Aurora Health Hospital on 24 and 25 December, leaving them spoiled overnight.
A pharmacy technician discovered 57 vials of Moderna vaccine outside the refrigerator, where the vials were to be stored on December 26. Each bottle contains 10 doses; the approximately 570 doses that were damaged were worth $ 11,000, the police estimated. However, due to the current pandemic and the limited supply, some find the doses invaluable.
The Modern vaccine must be kept refrigerated between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Leaving it out of its temperature range can compromise its potency and “denature” the doses, according to Moderna.
The police claimed that Brandenburg tampered with the bottles not only with the full knowledge that they would be considered “effectively useless”, but also knowing that anyone who received these doses would be at greater risk.
Fifty-seven of the compromised doses had already been administered by the time they were found to be ineffective, Aurora Health Care Medical Group President Jeff Bahr said at a virtual news conference on Thursday. The recipients of these doses were notified, Bahr said, and at the time, he said the remaining spoiled doses were discarded.
Gerol, however, said the initial reports on the status of the vaccine bottles were not accurate.
The prosecutor said he was informed today that doses of the vaccine that were left out were not discarded, but were hijacked by the hospital.
Investigators are awaiting tests to determine whether they were damaged in a way that made them unusable. The charges against Brandenburg could change depending on the status of the bottles, according to Gerol.
“The value of the drugs was between $ 8.00 and $ 12,000, but that, unfortunately, depends on whether they were actually damaged or destroyed,” said Gerol. “If they were not, despite the defendant’s intention, there is no dangerous reckless security.”
“You possibly have a crime in Wisconsin known as attempted criminal damage to property,” explained Gerol. “That would be a misdemeanor.”
Faced with the technical question still open, the judge ordered the suspect to be released on $ 10,000 bail. Brandenburg, who was fired from the hospital after his arrest, was ordered to hand over his weapons and was prevented from serving as a pharmacist.
The suspect’s lawyer declined to comment to ABC News. Brandenburg’s next hearing is January 19. It is not immediately known when the researchers’ test results on the tampered bottles will be ready.
Brandenburg remained silent during court proceedings, calling from Ozaukee prison, wearing an orange shirt, glasses and a mask. He spoke only once, answering a direct question if he had any doubts about the conditions of his release.
The Grafton Police Department said it is conducting the investigation together with the FBI and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Two complaints from coworkers about Bradenburg allegedly bringing a gun to work were filed with the Wisconsin Department of Security and Professional Services, a department spokesman told ABC.
A department prosecutor has officially opened an investigation into these complaints, which will be properly assessed for their licensing in the state.
Aurora Health will continue to work with Moderna and the Food and Drug Administration to identify a strategy for future vaccinations for the 57 affected individuals, said Bahr. He emphasized that “this was a situation involving a bad actor, as opposed to a bad process.”
In the village of Grafton, about a 25-minute drive north of Milwaukee, Brandenburg’s neighbor told ABC News that the suspect was reserved.
“I didn’t even know he was a pharmacist,” Tim Skow, 54, told ABC News, saying that Brandenburg waved while mowing the lawn, but was not particularly outgoing in what Skow described as a “narrow” “community.
Skow said he was disturbed by the idea that his own neighbor could be allegedly involved in something so malicious.
“It’s really scary. Pharmacists should help people, not hurt them,” he said.