“Tampering with vaccine doses in the midst of a global health crisis calls for a strong response, as reflected by the serious charges the United States has brought today,” said the acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division said in a statement, per ABC News.

Many continue to fall victim to COVID-19, so the vaccine could be the only hope to combat the virus.

As previously reported by theGrio, Wilber Portillo, an 18-year-old young man in Denver, died after contracting COVID-19 for what his family and friends say was a second time. 

Portillo’s cousin and his girlfriend assert that Portillo tested positive for the virus in early October and again in mid-November, just two days before he died. He reportedly went to the doctor on Nov. 18, where he was told that he had a “strong infection” in his lungs. That night, he went to sleep and never woke up. 

According to a local report, Portillo contracted COVID-19 the first week of October, and after he quarantined and recovered, believed he had immunity. His girlfriend, Andrea Ferrel, maintained that he still practiced social distancing. 

However, within a month, he was sick again. 

“Just because you’re young, you aren’t immune to it,” Ferrel said, “and even though we see more cases with older people and people with health conditions and even people without health conditions, it’s important that you stay home.”

Additional reporting by Biba Adams