Ozaukee County Prison
Steven Brandenburg
Steven Brandenburg is a pharmacist in Grafton, Wisconsin, accused of manipulating doses of COVID-19 vaccine, according to prison records.
A prosecutor said in a virtual hearing that his reason was to believe the vaccine was unsafe. The prosecutor also said Brandenburg had brought a gun to work twice. He believed the vaccine could change people’s DNA, according to a probable cause he alleges he also admitted to being a conspiracy theorist.
Brandenburg was admitted to the Ozaukee County Jail, located in a suburban area near Milwaukee, on preliminary charges of property damage and reckless second-degree security danger, both crimes. He is described in prison records as a 46-year-old white man. No deposit amount appears. The date of custody is December 31, 2020.
Police have described a scenario in which the pharmacist is accused of manipulating the vaccines to make them unusable before giving them to people.
“Grafton detectives indicate that the individual knew that the damaged vaccines would be useless and that people who received the vaccines would think they had been vaccinated against the virus when in fact they were not,” a press release said. the police.
Here is the booking form:
Ozaukee Prison Co.Steven Brandenburg
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Grafton police accuse pharmacist of intentionally destroying 57 bottles containing 570 doses of COVID-19 vaccine
Grafton PD
The Grafton, Wisconsin Police Department wrote in a Dec. 31 press release that it had arrested a pharmacist for “intentionally destroying multiple vials of COVID-19 vaccinations at Grafton’s Advocate Health Hospital Aurora.”
The statement states that a former employee of Grafton’s Advocate Aurora Health Hospital was arrested on the afternoon of Dec. 31 for “manipulating and causing the destruction of 57 vials containing approximately 570 doses of the new coronavirus vaccine.”
On Dec. 30, Grafton police were called to Grafton’s Advocate Aurora Health Hospital for a report that a former pharmacy employee had intentionally removed the vaccines from the refrigerated storage and let them rest overnight. making about 570 doses of the vaccine useless, ”according to health professionals. Grafton police immediately began investigating to determine the reason and which, if any, criminal charges could be filed.
As of January 2, 2021, no criminal charges had been filed. Aurora’s president says it was a “situation involving a bad actor, not a bad process.”
2. Aurora Health initially painted the incident as an accident; Brandenburg has a valid pharmacist license in the State of Wisconsin
WI status
According to records from the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, Steven R. Brandenburg is an authorized pharmacist. Its location is given as Saukville, Wisconsin, and its credential license is current. It was granted on August 22, 1997 and was classified as good until May 31, 2022. It is found that it meets all the requirements and has no orders under its license.
According to police, the investigation revealed that a former pharmacist, a Grafton resident, “removed the vials from the refrigerated storage knowing they would not be usable. Aurora’s preliminary investigation into the incident, which was initially reported in the news on Saturday, December 26, 2020, determined that the incident was accidental. “
GettyAn illustrative image shows vials with Covid-19 vaccine stickers attached and syringes with the logo of the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, on November 17, 2020.
However, after receiving additional information, Aurora Health’s public safety sector “began a deeper dive into the incident and discovered that the vials were intentionally removed by the pharmacist. In a written statement to public safety officials at Aurora Health, the former employee admitted to intentionally disposing of the vaccine knowing that if not stored properly the vaccine would be ineffective, ”police said.
3. Patients actually received the vials but were not harmed, the publication says; The pharmacist is in the midst of a divorce
Saul Loeb-Pool / Getty ImagesA model of COVID-19.
The police statement said Grafton police detectives noted that the 57 doses of the vaccine were distributed to patients, but according to Aurora health officials, there are no health issues related to the missed doses. The doses are effectively “useless.”
It is estimated that the value of the damaged doses ranged from $ 8,000 to $ 11,000.
Police arrested Brandenburg on charges of recklessly endangering first-degree security (a Class F felony), adulterating a prescription drug (a Class H felony) and criminal damage to property (a Class I felony) ). However, only two of the three charges are listed in prison records; the recommended charge for adulterating a prescription drug is not included in the Brandenburg booking information.
Aurora Health says it has administered more than 23,000 vaccines to front-line “team members.” The president of the company said at a virtual press conference that there is no evidence that vaccines already administered endanger patients.
WISN-TV reported that its reporters tried to talk to Brandenburg’s “distant woman,” but declined to comment.
“(I looked at them) they took him in handcuffs. He was in the back of the squad, “Darlene Scow, who lives on her street, told WISN. shots and what if they catch the virus now? It’s horrible for someone to do it on purpose, to do it deliberately. “
Wisconsin court records show the pharmacist’s wife is the petitioner for a pending divorce filed in June. According to records, there are minors involved in the divorce. The parties “request to overlook mediation and appoint a LAG,” the records say, referring to a Guardian Ad Litem, a lawyer representing the children, who was then appointed. Judicial records indicate that in November there was an urgent request from Brandenburg’s lawyer that Brandenburg’s estranged wife’s lawyer objected. “The court issues the order to suspend the location due to COVID,” the records say, though they do not explain further.
In 2004, Brandenburg was the petitioner for a previous divorce.
4. Wisconsin had administered more than 47,000 vaccines, but it is only a portion of those assigned to the state
DHSWisconsin COVID-19 Vaccine Statistics.
As of Dec. 29, according to the latest available statistics, the federal government had allocated 265,575 COVID-19 vaccines to the State of Wisconsin. Of these, 156,875 were sent and 47,157 administered, according to state statistics. The number of vaccines administered decreased during the Christmas week.
Wisconsin has experienced a large rebound in COVID-19 cases, with more than 480,000 cases confirmed. More than 2.8 million people have been tested. Ninety-three percent of people have recovered and there are more than 28,000 active cases.
According to state statistics, 1% of people have died, or 4,859. More than 21,000 have been hospitalized. This represents 4.4% of the total.
5. The reason is unclear, but officials say Brandenburg has admitted removing the vaccine from refrigeration
Scott Olson / Getty ImagesA nurse holds a vial of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Authorities have not revealed any reason for the alleged manipulation.
The president of Aurora Health, Dr. Jeffrey Bahr said in a virtual press conference: “On Saturday, December 26, in the early hours of the morning, one of our pharmacy technicians discovered what turned out to be 57 Modern vaccine vials, enough for about 570 doses, out of the fridge where these vials were stored ”.
He said: “At the moment we are not able to judge any reason,” he said, as authorities delved deeper into this in their investigation.
The vials of the vaccine were “returned to the refrigerator” and the technician reported the incident. The pharmacist alleged it was an “unintentional mistake” at first. They later determined that the vaccine “could still be administered” because it has a 12-hour viability period.
An internal review was continued.
He added: “Over the next few days, as we continued our internal review, we became increasingly suspicious of the behavior of the person in question. The individual was suspended and after multiple interviews over the course of the week, admitted yesterday that he had intentionally removed the vaccine from the fridge. “
All 57 vaccines became less effective or ineffective. These 57 people were notified. “The vaccination program here remains safe and critical to getting us out of the pandemic,” said Bahr, who indicated it was now a law enforcement matter.
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