Pharmacist Killed By His Own Brother For Giving Out COVID-19 Vaccine: Police

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A Cumberland man charged in the killing of his brother, sister-in-law and an 83-year-old woman reportedly believed his brother, a pharmacist, was poisoning people by giving them the COVID-19 vaccine, court documents show.

Authorities said Jeffrey Burnham, 46, stabbed to death family friend Rebecca Reynolds, 83, inside her Cumberland home Sept. 29. Burnham then took her car and drove to Ellicott City, where the following day he killed his brother, Brian Robinette, 58, and his wife Kelly Sue Robinette, 57, in their home.

Court documents show Burnham told his mother, Evelyn Burnham, 83, he had to "confront his brother." He told his mother, “Brian knows something," reports the Baltimore Sun.

Charging documents reveal that Evelyn Burnham contacted Cumberland police twice, concerned about her son's mental stability after he informed her the FBI was pursuing them. She told police her son lived with her and kept a security system in his bedroom.

Evelyn Burnham first called police on the same day her son killed Reynolds and again the following day when he shot to death the Robinettes, according to the Baltimore Sun. Charging documents do not indicate what the Cumberland Police did in response to those calls.

Burnham was captured in West Virginia following an 18-hour manhunt after police identified him as the suspect in the three homicides.

Read more: Triple Homicide Suspect Arrested, 2 Family Members Dead: Police

When Will Vaccines Be Approved For Kids Under 12?

Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna began clinical trials of their coronavirus for kids under 12 in August. Those trials, which came at the urging of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, were aimed at detecting some rare side effects that had shown up in a small percentage of patients under the 30.

The trials, which involved more than 2,000 children for each vaccine, are similar to earlier trials before the medications were approved for older patients. In each of the previous trials, an advisory committee for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ruled the benefits of getting vaccinated outweighed the minimal risks.

Pfizer submitted results of the trials to the FDA last week. If the FDA grants emergency use authorization, kids in the 5-to-11 age group could start getting the Pfizer vaccine by Halloween.

Some parents have already started asking pediatricians to administer the shot "off label" to their younger children. Those reports prompted FDA to reiterate warnings that parents should not get their kids under 12 vaccinated until the agency completes its review.

"The FDA takes very seriously the importance of getting vaccines, shown to be safe and effective in children," Dr. Anthony Fauci told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' show last week. "I would imagine in the next few weeks they will examine that data and hopefully give the O.K. so we can start vaccinating children hopefully by the end of October."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, reports of death after COVID-19 vaccination are rare.

"More than 357 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the United States from Dec. 14, 2020, through Aug. 16, 2021. During this time, VAERS received 6,789 reports of death (0.0019%) among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine," the CDC said. ... "Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem. A review of available clinical information, including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records, has not established a causal link to COVID-19 vaccines. However, recent reports indicate a plausible causal relationship between the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and TTS, a rare and serious adverse event (blood clots with low platelets) which has caused deaths."

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