On January 26, Steven Brandenburg, 46, of Grafton, agreed to plead guilty to two felony counts of attempting to tamper with a consumer product. He confessed to purposefully removing Moderna doses from a refrigerator at Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, just north of Milwaukee, for several hours.

Brandenburg claimed he felt "great shame" and accepted responsibility for his actions in a statement released before his sentence. He apologized to his coworkers, family, and community, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

"I just want to finish by saying I am greatly ashamed and I thank you, your honor, for allowing me to say that," he said.