Ex-pharmacist gets prison for vaccine tampering

The Grafton pharmacist who tried to spoil more than 500 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to three years in prison.

Steven Brandenburg, 46, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Brett Ludwig to serve three years of extended supervision after serving his prison sentence and to pay $83,000 in restitution.

Brandenburg apologized for his actions Tuesday, telling the judge that he was “desperately sorry and ashamed” and accepted responsibility for his actions.

“I did not have the right to make this decision,” he said.

Brandenburg pleaded guilty in February  to two counts of attempting to tamper with consumer products with reckless disregard for the risk that another person would be placed in danger of death or bodily injury.

Brandenburg was a pharmacist at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton when he removed a box of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine from a hospital refrigeration unit during two successive overnight shifts in December. The vaccine must be stored at specific cold temperatures to remain viable.

After leaving the vaccine out for several hours each night, Brandenburg returned it to the refrigerator so it could be used in the hospital’s vaccine clinic the following day.

Fifty-seven people received doses of the vaccine that Brandenburg tampered with. The remaining doses were destroyed when Aurora discovered what Brandenburg had done.

Brandenburg was fired by Aurora on Dec. 30 and has had his pharmacist license revoked.

“This has been absolutely devastating for our organization,” Michelle Blakely, president of the Grafton hospital, said in court. 

Several hospital employees wrote statements to the court saying the incident left them shaken.

“Steven Brandenburg took the choice from me to receive a stable and known to be safe vaccine,” one statement filed in February read. “There are still times that I cannot focus on daily tasks or get a good night’s sleep because of the lasting worry and stress that was instilled upon me. Though we are told the vaccines are still effective, I am still unsure of what is in store for my future.”

Brandenburg is described in court documents as a conspiracy theorist and vaccine skeptic who thought Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine was microchipped and would render recipients infertile.

He also thought vaccines were “of the devil,” the documents state.

Authorities noted Brandenburg had persuaded co-workers to receive shots of saline instead of the flu vaccine in the past and that he had brought a handgun to work on at least one occasion.

Brandenburg’s actions were investigated by Grafton police as well as the Milwaukee Field Office of the FBI and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations.

“By illegally tampering with these doses, Brandenburg threatened the health and safety of an entire community,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Hughes said in a press release following the sentencing. “Today’s sentencing sends a clear message to individuals who intentionally violate these laws that they will be vigorously prosecuted.”

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, who pledged to continue to work with law enforcement to safeguard the vaccine, said in the release, “The purposeful attempt to spoil vaccine doses during a national public health emergency is a serious crime.” 

In addition to the federal charges, Brandenburg also faces a misdemeanor count of attempted criminal damage to property in Ozaukee County Circuit Court. 

In January, he pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge.

A hearing in the case is set for Wednesday, June 16, before Judge Paul Malloy.