The Justice Department reported that a US pharmacist was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to spoiling – voluntarily – dozens of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
According to court documents, Steven Brandenburg, 46, intentionally removed bottles of Moderna’s antidote from the refrigerator at his Wisconsin hospital.
The pharmacist must also pay $83,800 (approximately R$421,000) to the hospital as compensation for damages.
He removed the vaccines from the fridge during the night shift and left them at room temperature for several hours before putting them back in the fridge for the next day.
Overall, 57 people received these doses, according to the government.
Brian Boynton, assistant attorney general with the responsibility for civil affairs at the Justice Department, said, “The deliberate attempt to spoof a vaccine dose in a national health emergency is a serious crime.”
Steven Brandenburg said he believes the vaccine is dangerous to people and can modify DNA.
Moderna’s vaccine, like the one developed by Pfizer-BioNtech, is based on messenger RNA technology, a system that teaches the immune system to fight viruses.
More than 124 million doses of Moderna’s antidote have been applied in the United States.
