Authorities say Wisconsin pharmacist who let vaccine spoil is 'an admitted conspiracy theorist'

Police in Wisconsin say Steven Brandenburg, the pharmacist accused of intentionally spoiling 570 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, is "an admitted conspiracy theorist" who thought the Moderna vaccine would hurt people and "change their DNA."

The vaccine does not alter a person's genes. Brandenburg, 46, worked at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, near Milwaukee. Police said he twice removed a box of vials from a refrigerator, "knowing that it would diminish the effects of the vaccine." The hospital initially thought the vials were left out by accident, and quickly administered 57 injections, thinking those doses were still usable because the vaccine is viable for 12 hours outside of refrigeration. Moderna said those doses will not cause any harm to the people who received them.

Brandenburg was arrested on New Year's Eve and faces felony charges of reckless endangerment and property damage, although prosecutors say if testing shows the vials to be at all usable, the charges could be dropped to a misdemeanor. Brandenburg has been "pretty cooperative and admitted to everything he'd done," prosecutor Adam Gerold said, adding that the pharmacist "expressed that he was under great stress because of marital problems." Brandenburg was released Monday on a $10,000 signature bond.

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