(Reuters) – A Wisconsin pharmacist has agreed to plead guilty to intentionally attempting to smash hundreds of doses of Modern COVID-19 vaccine in an attempt to make them ineffective, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
According to a Justice Department statement, Steven Brandenburg, 46, is charged with two counts of attempted tampering with consumer products and reckless disregard for the risk of another person being in danger of death or personal injury.
Bit.ly/3qUNXVI was said to believe in various “conspiracy theories” and was skeptical about vaccines in general and the Modern vaccine specifically.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has considered Moderna’s vaccine to be safe and effective.
Brandenburg has signed a judicial declaration agreement to plead guilty to the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, the statement added.
In late December, he intentionally removed a box of COVID-19 vaccine in two successive night shifts from a refrigerator at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wisconsin, in order to ruin its effectiveness, according to the statement.
He left them out for several hours before putting them back in the fridge for use in the clinic the next day, according to the statement, which added that 57 people had already received doses of the vaccine from these vials. before discovering their behavior.
The Moderna vaccine should be stored and shipped frozen, but does not require extremely cold temperatures and can be stored for 30 days in standard temperature refrigerators.
Reports from Bhargav Acharya to Bengaluru; Edited by Raju Gopalakrishnan