(Photo : Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images)
WENATCHEE, WA - JANUARY 26: A pharmacist prepares COVID-19 vaccines for patients arriving at Town Toyota Center on January 26, 2021 in Wenatchee, Washington. As Washington opens several mass vaccination sites this week, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the state.
Officials are still trying to determine whether the vials that the Anti-Vax Pharmacist tampered with were harmful or ineffective, as 57 individuals received doses of the said vaccine.
A pharmacist from the state of Wisconsin is now known as the 'Anti-Vax Pharmacist' after he admitted that he tried to destroy hundreds of doses of COVID-19 vaccines due to his belief that the vaccines that were created by pharmaceutical companies to end the pandemic were dangerous.
Anti-Vax Pharmacist Pleads Guilty
The 46-year-old man from Wisconsin, Steven Brandenburg, also known as the 'Anti-vax Pharmacist' now faces up to 10 years of imprisonment after agreeing to plead guilty to two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products with reckless disregard for the risk that another individual will be placed in danger or bodily injury.
The said plea agreement was released by authorities on Tuesday.
According to the BuzzFeedNews, the acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice shared during a news release that tampering with vaccine doses in the middle of a global health crisis calls for an immediate and strong response, as reflected by the serious charges the United States has brought today.
The 46-year-old pharmacist was working two-night shifts as a hospital pharmacist in Grafton, which north of Milwaukee, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day when he removed a box of vaccines produced by Moderna from a freezer for several hours as a way of spoiling the said vaccines.
Based on the investigation, 57 individuals have received doses of those specific vaccines on December 26.
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On the probable cause statement by Grafton police Detective Sgt. Eric Sutherland, alongside medical officials, they have accounted that each vial contained 10 doses, and in total, the worth of the material damaged by the 'Anti-Vax Pharmacist' is around $8,550 to $11,400.
Sutherland also mentioned in the probable cause statement that the infamous Anti-Vax Pharmacist did not only admitted that it was an intentional act but also admitted to being a conspiracy theorist as he shared to the investigators that he believes that the coronavirus vaccine was not safe for individuals and could harm them and change their DNA, The Guardian reported.
In his plea agreement, the 'Anti-Vax Pharmacist' also admitted that he is skeptical in general, and the Moderna coronavirus vaccine specifically.
The Anti-Vax Pharmacist was at first booked on suspicion of recklessly endangering safety, adulterating a prescription drug, and criminal damage to property.
On the other hand, coronavirus vaccines, which include the ones produced by Moderna, have been rigorously tested for safety and authorized by the FDA or the Food and Drug Administration, NBC News reported.
As of Tuesday, the United States of America has tallied more than 23.5 million vaccine doses have been given.
United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger shared that distributing the coronavirus vaccine is critical in order to overcome the current global health crisis, which continues to end lives and upend the country's economy.
He also added that these charges show that the Justice Department will pursue anyone and especially any medical professional, who tampers with the vaccine.
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