Pharmacist Arrested for Trying to Ruin Hundreds of COVID-19 Shots
2021-01-06
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1A pharmacist in the American state of Wisconsin told police that he tried to ruin hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine.
2In court documents released Monday, the man said he believed the vaccine would change people's DNA.
3Police in the city of Grafton arrested pharmacist Steven Brandenburg on December 31.
4The arrest followed an investigation into the 57 damaged vials of the Moderna vaccine at Advocate Aurora Health.
5Officials said the vials contained enough doses to vaccinate more than 500 people.
6Government lawyer Adam Gerol told The Associated Press, "He'd formed this belief they were unsafe."
7Gerol added that Brandenburg was upset because he and his wife are separating.
8Another employee within the Advocate Aurora Health hospital system said Brandenburg had brought a gun to work two times in the past.
9Brandenburg has not yet been criminally charged.
10A police investigator wrote in court documents that Brandenburg admitted to being a conspiracy theorist - someone who believes in secret plans that usually powerful people or groups make.
11He told investigators he knowingly tried to ruin the doses because he thought the vaccine could harm people by changing their DNA.
12False information about COVID-19 vaccines has been shared on social media, including claims that "mRNA" vaccines will change your DNA.
13Some theories claim the shots will turn people into genetically modified human beings.
14Both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines use messenger RNA, or mRNA.
15The use of mRNA in vaccine development is fairly new.
16But scientists have worked on the technology for almost 30 years.
17The mRNA vaccines give cells instructions for how to make what is called the "spike protein."
18This is a substance found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19.
19The human body can then recognize that the protein does not belong there and start producing antibodies to fight against the virus.
20Experts have said there is no truth to claims that the vaccines can genetically modify humans.
21Health officials in Britain, the United States and Europe have approved the vaccines for emergency use.
22Jeff Bahr is head of Advocate Aurora Health Care in Grafton.
23He said Brandenburg admitted that he removed vials containing the vaccine from refrigeration and left them out two times.
24Another worker discovered the vaccines outside the refrigerator on December 26.
25Brandenburg told that worker he had forgotten to put them back.
26The Moderna vaccine can remain effective for 12 hours outside refrigeration.
27Workers used the doses to vaccinate 57 people before throwing away the rest.
28Police said the unused doses were worth between $8,000 and $11,000.
29Bahr believes the shots people received on December 26 were not effective.
30But government lawyer Adam Gerol said Moderna would need to test the shots to make sure they were ineffective before he can bring charges against Brandenburg.
31Brandenburg's wife of eight years filed for divorce in June.
32Court documents said the day before Brandenburg was arrested for ruining the vaccine, he told his wife that the world was "crashing down."
33He told her the government was planning cyberattacks and was going to shut down the power network.
34I'm Jonathan Evans.
1A pharmacist in the American state of Wisconsin told police that he tried to ruin hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine. In court documents released Monday, the man said he believed the vaccine would change people's DNA. 2Police in the city of Grafton arrested pharmacist Steven Brandenburg on December 31. The arrest followed an investigation into the 57 damaged vials of the Moderna vaccine at Advocate Aurora Health. Officials said the vials contained enough doses to vaccinate more than 500 people. 3Government lawyer Adam Gerol told The Associated Press, "He'd formed this belief they were unsafe." Gerol added that Brandenburg was upset because he and his wife are separating. 4Another employee within the Advocate Aurora Health hospital system said Brandenburg had brought a gun to work two times in the past. 5Brandenburg has not yet been criminally charged. 6False information about COVID-19 vaccines 7A police investigator wrote in court documents that Brandenburg admitted to being a conspiracy theorist - someone who believes in secret plans that usually powerful people or groups make. He told investigators he knowingly tried to ruin the doses because he thought the vaccine could harm people by changing their DNA. 8False information about COVID-19 vaccines has been shared on social media, including claims that "mRNA" vaccines will change your DNA. Some theories claim the shots will turn people into genetically modified human beings. 9Both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines use messenger RNA, or mRNA. The use of mRNA in vaccine development is fairly new. But scientists have worked on the technology for almost 30 years. 10The mRNA vaccines give cells instructions for how to make what is called the "spike protein." This is a substance found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19. The human body can then recognize that the protein does not belong there and start producing antibodies to fight against the virus. 11Experts have said there is no truth to claims that the vaccines can genetically modify humans. Health officials in Britain, the United States and Europe have approved the vaccines for emergency use. 12What happened? 13Jeff Bahr is head of Advocate Aurora Health Care in Grafton. He said Brandenburg admitted that he removed vials containing the vaccine from refrigeration and left them out two times. 14Another worker discovered the vaccines outside the refrigerator on December 26. Brandenburg told that worker he had forgotten to put them back. The Moderna vaccine can remain effective for 12 hours outside refrigeration. Workers used the doses to vaccinate 57 people before throwing away the rest. Police said the unused doses were worth between $8,000 and $11,000. 15Bahr believes the shots people received on December 26 were not effective. But government lawyer Adam Gerol said Moderna would need to test the shots to make sure they were ineffective before he can bring charges against Brandenburg. 16Brandenburg's wife of eight years filed for divorce in June. Court documents said the day before Brandenburg was arrested for ruining the vaccine, he told his wife that the world was "crashing down." He told her the government was planning cyberattacks and was going to shut down the power network. 17I'm Jonathan Evans. 18The Associated Press reported this story. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 19_______________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21pharmacist - n. a person whose job is to prepare and administer drugs and medicines 22dose - n. the amount of medicine or drug 23vial - n. very small glass or plastic container used to hold medicines 24conspiracy - n. a secret plan to do something that is harmful and illegal 25modified - adj. changed parts of something 26refrigeration - n. the state of keeping something cold 27divorce - n. the ending of a marriage by a legal process