(Reuters) – A Wisconsin pharmacist has agreed to plead guilty to intentionally trying to spoil hundreds of doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in an attempt to render them ineffective, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Steven Brandenburg, 46, is charged with two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products and reckless negligence for the risk of another person risking death or personal injury, according to a Justice Department statement.
He said that bit.ly/3qUNXVI he believed in several “conspiracy theories” and was skeptical about vaccines in general and specifically the vaccine of Moderna.
The US Food and Drug Administration considered the Modern vaccine safe and effective.
Brandenburg signed a plea agreement to plead guilty to the charges, which each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, the statement added.
In late December, he intentionally removed a box of COVID-19 vaccine on two successive night shifts from a refrigerator at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wisconsin, so he could ruin its effectiveness, according to the statement.
He left them out 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 vaccine from these vials before their conduct was discovered.
Moderna’s vaccine must be stored and shipped frozen, but does not require deep-frozen temperatures and can be stored for 30 days in standard temperature refrigerators.
Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan