Wisconsin hospital employee accused of forgery with hundreds of COVID-19 vaccine doses he told investigators he believed the vaccine could harm people and change their DNA, according to a probable cause statement obtained by CBS affiliate WDJT-TV. Experts said there was no evidence that the vaccine could change DNA.
The employee, identified in the statement as pharmacist Steven Brandenburg, is accused of intentionally removing 57 ampoules of the Moderna vaccine from a refrigerator in the pharmacy at Aurora Medical Center and leaving them outside overnight. The company said it fired the employee after admitting to intentionally removing the bottles. He was arrested last week by Grafton Police.
The statement of the probable cause, written by a Grafton police detective, claims that Brandenburg told investigators that he believes the vaccine “is not safe for humans and could harm them and change their DNA.” He also claims that Brandenburg acknowledged that the forgery was “an intentional act”.
The detective who wrote the statement also called Brandenburg a “conspiracy theorist,” but did not explain.
Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office
Aurora Medical Center initially said it was forced to drop more than 500 doses of vaccine because of the incident, estimating the cost to be between $ 8,000 and $ 11,000. But Ozaukee County Attorney Adam Gerol said Monday during a virtual hearing that the bottles were kept and will be tested by Moderna, according to The Associated Press. Gerol added that he intends to wait to see if the doses were actually ineffective before filing charges.
Grafton police said some people received doses of the vaccine that were taken out of the refrigerator – but the department said it did not believe any of those people were at medical risk.
A judge set Brandenburg’s bond at $ 10,000 and ordered him not to have any contact with Aurora employees and to present his firearms at the sheriff’s office, WDJT-TV reported. His next hearing will be on January 19.