In Friesland, a nurse breaks a vaccine vial. Fearful of losing her job, she fills the syringes with saline. She is charged with intentional bodily harm. The district court of Oldenburg is now making the verdict.
More than a year and a half after the vaccination scandal in Schortens, Lower Saxony, the district court in Oldenburg sentenced a nurse to six months’ probation for intentional bodily harm. According to a spokesman, the court considered it proven that the 40-year-old who worked in a vaccination center had drawn up six syringes with a saline solution instead of an active ingredient after she dropped an ampoule with a corona vaccine. The case from spring 2021 caused a stir because there was suspicion that the defendant had manipulated syringes on a much larger scale.
As a precaution, the authorities assumed that up to around ten thousand corona vaccinations might be ineffective and organized follow-up vaccinations for those affected. According to the public prosecutor, the accused was also a supporter of corona conspiracy stories and vehemently rejected government measures to contain the pandemic. Ultimately, 15 suspected cases were indicted, in which the suspect allegedly secretly drew up syringes with no or too much diluted active ingredient. At the end of the taking of evidence in court, the public prosecutor’s office only demanded a conviction in six cases. This corresponded to the information that the woman had originally given to a colleague and which got the case rolling. The accused had admitted this again in court.
At the start of the trial about a month ago, in a statement read by the defense, the defendant also denied that she was opposed to vaccination. She only secretly filled six syringes with too little vaccine after she dropped an ampoule with the active ingredient. She acted solely out of fear for her job. The verdict corresponded to the demand of the public prosecutor’s office, which had also pleaded for a suspended prison sentence of six months. The defense, on the other hand, had requested a conviction for a small fine for attempted bodily harm. The accused was responsible for preparing injections in a vaccination center operated by the Red Cross.
She confided to a colleague in April 2021 that she had raised six syringes of saline after dropping a vaccine vial of vaccine. At that time the vaccination campaign was just starting, the vaccines were still scarce. The woman was subsequently released, at the same time the authorities began large-scale investigations. The police set up a special investigative team. Saline is regularly used to dilute vaccine fluid and is harmless to the human body. However, if the serum is diluted too much, it will have no effect.
