The Wisconsin hospital official accused of tampering with hundreds of COVID-19 vaccine doses told investigators that he believed the vaccine could harm people and alter their DNA, according to a statement of probable cause obtained by CBS affiliate WDJT-TV. Experts said there was no evidence that the vaccine could alter DNA.
The employee, identified in the statement as a pharmacist Steven Brandenburg, is accused of intentionally removing 57 vials of Modern vaccine from a refrigerator at a pharmacy at Aurora Medical Center and leaving them out overnight. The company said it fired the employee after he admitted to intentionally removing the bottles. He was arrested last week by the Grafton police.
The probable cause statement, written by a Grafton police detective, claims that Brandenburg told investigators that he believed the vaccine “was not safe for people and could harm them and alter their DNA”. He also claims that Brandenburg admitted that the tampering was “an intentional act”.
The detective who wrote the statement also called Brandenburg an “admitted conspiracy theorist”, but gave no further details.
Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office
Aurora Medical Center originally said it was forced to discard more than 500 doses of the vaccine because of the incident, estimating the cost between $ 8,000 and $ 11,000. But Ozaukee County district attorney Adam Gerol said during a virtual hearing on Monday that the bottles were withheld and would be tested by Moderna, according to The Associated Press. Gerol added that he plans to wait to see if the doses have actually become ineffective before going through the process.
Grafton police said some people received doses of vaccines that were removed from the refrigerator – but the department said it did not believe that any of those people were at medical risk.
A judge set Brandenburg’s bail at $ 10,000 and ordered him not to have contact with Aurora officials and to send his firearms to the sheriff’s office, WDJT-TV reported. His next hearing will be on January 19th.