A Wisconsin pharmacist pleaded guilty to federal court on Tuesday for spoiling hundreds of doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine.
Steven Brandenburg, 46, pleaded guilty to two counts of “attempts to tamper with consumer products with reckless disregard for the risk that another person will be endangered by death or bodily harm,” said one press release of the Ministry of Justice (DOJ).
The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
“This person used his special access to tamper with vials of much-needed COVID-19 vaccine. The FBI takes allegations of tampering with consumer products very seriously and will use all available means to bring those who willfully endanger public health to justice, ”said Robert Hughes, special FBI officer in Milwaukee.
Officials at the Advocate Aurora Health medical center in Grafton, Wisconsin, reported last month that an employee deliberately removed more than 50 vials of the Moderna vaccine from the freezer.
The incident was originally believed to be due to “human error”, but Brandenburg was later suspected of doing so on purpose, believing the vaccine to be “unsafe”.
The Moderna vaccine still needs to be stored at colder temperatures to remain effective. According to the DOJ, Brandenburg took the vaccines out of the freezer for several hours for two consecutive nights. Fifty-seven people received doses of the vaccine from this batch before Brandenburg’s actions were discovered.
The DOJ states that Brandenburg has expressed his feelings about vaccines to his employees at the hospital for at least two years. His actions are estimated to have ruined more than 500 doses of the vaccine.
Brandenburg’s license was suspended earlier this month after he was arrested by authorities on charges of reckless danger, adulteration of a prescription drug and criminal damage to property.