(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
By Curtis Brodner
(GRAFTON, Wis.) Steven Brandenburg, the Wisconsin pharmacist who was arrested on Jan. 1 and charged with tampering with hundreds of coronavirus vaccine doses, told police he is a “conspiracy theorist” who believes the vaccines alter people’s DNA, reported CBS.
Brandenburg is accused of intentionally removing 57 vials carrying 570 doses of the Moderna vaccine from a refrigerator and leaving them to expire overnight.
The estimated cost of the lost vaccines is between $8,000 and $11,000, as well as the public health cost of lost time during a crucial early phase of vaccine distribution for a virus that has killed over 350,000 Americans.
District Attorney Adam Gerol said the pharmacy retained the spoiled vials to be tested by Moderna in the hope that they are still usable, reported AP News.
Grafton police said some people received vaccines that had been removed from refrigeration, but that they shouldn’t be at medical risk beyond the lack of impact from the dose they received.
A judge set Brandenburg’s bail at $10,000. His next hearing is slated for Jan. 19.