A pharmacist accused of trying to destroy hundreds of doses of the coronavirus vaccine is said to be a conspiracy theorist who believed the drug was unsafe, Wisconsin officials said on Monday.
Steven Brandenburg, 46, was arrested in lieu of $ 10,000 bail by Ozaukee County Circuit Court judge Paul Malloy during a brief appearance.
Police in Grafton, about 20 miles north of Milwaukee, arrested pharmacist Advocate Aurora Health on Thursday after 57 vials of Moderna vaccine apparently broke. Brandenburg took doses of the vaccine out of a refrigerator and left them out for 12 hours, possibly rendering them useless, police said.
Each bottle contained 10 doses and was worth between $ 8,550 to $ 11,400, according to a statement of probable cause made by Det.-Sgt of the Grafton Police. Eric Sutherland.
Brandenburg is an “outspoken conspiracy theorist” and he “told investigators that he believed the Covid-19 vaccine was not safe for people and could harm them and alter their DNA,” wrote Sutherland.
“He admitted it was an intentional act,” added the statement of probable cause.
Brandenburg was initially charged on suspicion of recklessly placing security, tampering with a prescription drug and criminal property damage.
However, it was not immediately clear whether Brandenburg’s actions ruined the doses or whether they could still be administered effectively, said Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol.
Moderna employees would have to examine the doses and determine if they were damaged, according to Gerold.
If the doses were not destroyed, despite being left out of the refrigerator, the charges could be reduced, the prosecution said.
Brandenburg did not have to file an argument during his first court hearing on Monday. The highly procedural hearing was held virtually to adhere to coronavirus security protocols.
While the judge and the prosecutor were in court, Brandenburg appeared from prison and his lawyer from another location. The defense attorney acknowledged his presence on behalf of Brandenburg, but did not appear to make any other substantive comments.
