PORT WASHINGTON, WIS (WBAY) – A former Wisconsin pharmacist accused of deliberately destroying doses of COVID-19 vaccine has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges.
Under the plea agreement reached by Action 2 News, Steven Brandenburg pleads guilty to two counts of reckless disregard for the risk of death from bodily injury.
The charges each carry up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $ 250,000, plus up to three years of release under supervision.
As we reported earlier, Brandenburg admitted that he left bottles of the vaccine out of the fridge twice overnight at attorney Aurora Health in Grafton, where he worked. A lawyer for Aurora Health officials says 57 vials of the Moderna vaccine have been spoiled. They could have vaccinated more than 500 people.
According to court documents, the investigating officers state that Brandenburg admitted that he believed in conspiracy theories and that the vaccine mutated people’s DNA. (According to experts, it works like other vaccines that prepare the body’s immune system against viruses; it does not change their genetic code.)
A state council suspended Brandenburg’s license to operate a pharmacy in Wisconsin earlier this month.
Online court records show that Brandenburg is also being prosecuted in the circuit court in Ozaukee County for misconduct.
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