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A former Wisconsin pharmacist who intentionally tampered with more than 500 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday. Stephen Brandenburg, 46, pleaded guilty in February to two criminal charges related to attempting to tamper with a consumer product.
He admitted to intentionally removing Moderna’s potions from the refrigerator for hours at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, just north of Milwaukee.
In a statement before the sentencing, Brandenburg said he felt “extremely ashamed” and took responsibility for his actions. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that he has apologized to his co-workers, family and community.
“I have no right to make this decision on their behalf,” the newspaper quoted him as saying. “I freshen it up daily.”
Stephen Brandenburg County Sheriff’s Office Ozauki via AP
Aurora destroyed most of the tampered doses, but not before 57 people received vaccinations from the supplies. These doses are still believed to be effective, but weeks of uncertainty created a storm of anger, anxiety and pain among the recipients, according to court documents.
The prosecution demanded four years and three months in prison. Brandenburg faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each felony.
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Brandenburg is a recognized conspiracy theorist who believes he is a prophet and that vaccines are the product of Satan. He also proclaimed his belief that the Earth was flat and that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were fake.
Brandenburg also secretly replaced the flu vaccine with the saline he was assigned to receive and persuaded several of his co-workers to secretly switch the flu vaccine as well, according to court filings.
(In 2020, CBSN Originals explored how evidence-based science is under fire in the “War on Science.”)
War on Flag 24:54.
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