The identity of the Aurora pharmacist who had deliberately spoiled 57 Moderna vaccine vials emerged but authorities did not publicly confirm the information.
The 46-year-old pharmacist believed to be Steven Brandenburg according to jail records was booked on drug tampering, reckless endangerment, adulterating a prescription drug, and criminal damage to property.
The former worker at the Advocate Aurora Health initially claimed he forgot to put the vials back into the refrigeration after removing them to get something else.
But he later changed the story and admitted to intentionally leaving the jabs outside the refrigerator for two days in a row causing them to lose their effectiveness.
The Moderna vials were intended to jab 570 people. The health facility had notified 57 people who had received the useless shots.
“We are more than disappointed that this individual’s actions with result in a delay of more than 500 people receiving their vaccine,” the Aurora Medical Center said in a statement.
“This was a violation of our core values, and the individual is no longer employed by us.”
The statement came following a previous one that had been initially released to announce the “unintended human error” before the suspect’s confession.
The spoiled jabs are worth $8,000 to $11,000. There is no evidence that the lack of refrigeration can lead to other consequences besides the loss of efficiency.
