Pharmacist accused of destroying Covid vaccines is ‘conspiracy theorist’

A Wisconsin pharmacist accused of deliberately sabotaging more than 500 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine has told investigators that he tampered with the vials because he believed them to be unsafe.

Stephen Brandenburg, 46, was arrested at his home on 31 December, and accused of intentionally removing 57 vials of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine from a refrigerator at the Aurora Medical Center, Wisconsin, and leaving them out overnight.

He was fired by the medical centre after employees discovered that the 57 vials, containing 570 doses of the vaccine, had been left out on 24 and 25 December. He was arrested a week later, according to ABC News.

The Moderna vaccine needs to be kept refrigerated between 36F and 46F before use, as leaving it outside of that temperature can possibly compromise its potency.

The Grafton Police Department released a probable cause statement on Monday that claimed Mr Brandenburg tampered with the vials because he thought the vaccine “was not safe for people and could harm them and change their DNA.”

There is no evidence that any Covid-19 vaccines alter a patient’s DNA, according to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The probable cause statement claimed that Mr Brandenburg confessed that he tampered with the vaccine doses as “an intentional act.”

Ozaukee County district attorney Adam Gerol told a judge at a zoom hearing that Mr Brandenburg gave “a full confession that he had done exactly this. His intent was to destroy the medication. He did the things that he was accused of.”

He added that the 46-year-old is an “admitted conspiracy theorist,” but did not elaborate further on that claim, according to CBS News.

Mr Gerol also made clear that initial reports that the 570 doses had been spoiled after being left out by Mr Brandenburg were false, as they have not yet been tested by Moderna.

Investigators are currently waiting on the results of tests on the doses tampered with by Mr Brandenburg to see if they have been rendered unusable before filing charges against him.

“The value of the drugs was somewhere between $8,000 (£5,894) and $12,000 (£8,841), but that, unfortunately all depends on whether they were in fact damaged or destroyed,” Mr Gerol said.

“If they were not, despite the defendant's intent, there is no reckless endangering safety,” he continued.

“You possibly have a crime in Wisconsin known as an attempted criminal damage to property,” Mr Gerol said, before adding that if the doses have been rendered unusable, “that would be a misdemeanour.”

The Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services has also opened an investigation into claims from two employees at the medical centre that Mr Brandenburg brought a weapon to work, according to ABC.

The judge at the hearing set Mr Brandenburg’s bail at $10,000 (£7,367) and ordered him to submit his firearms to the authorities and have no contact with employees at the medical centre.

Mr Brandenburg’s next hearing has been scheduled for 19 January. It is not yet known when Moderna will have the results of the tests on the doses.

According to Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 20.8 million people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached 353,621.