On Feb. 11, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office notified the public about an ongoing investigation concerning vaccinations provided by Dr. Van Koinis. Dr. Koinis was found deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sept. 10, 2019 in a Cook County Forest Preserve in Palos Township. The doctor left a suicide note that suggested he complied with parental requests not to vaccinate their children and that his records after 2010 were unreliable.
Since the Sheriff’s Office’s announcement last month, two former patients who are now adults and seven parents whose children were patients have contacted investigators to report that they pursued testing in response to the office’s public alert last month and have learned that they did not have immunity to some or all of the diseases for which they believed they had been vaccinated by Dr. Koinis. In some cases, parents reported that the tests indicated one child who was treated by Koinis is vaccinated while a sibling is under-vaccinated or shows no evidence of vaccination.
Based on this information, the Sheriff’s Office strongly encourages former patients of Dr. Koinis to contact their current healthcare provider about testing for vaccinations.
Sheriff’s investigators are working with the physician who currently has the medical records from Dr. Koinis’ practice and the Illinois Department of Public Health in this ongoing investigation.
Dr. Koinis’ practice was located at 3830 W. 95th Street, Evergreen Park, Illinois, and he primarily served individuals on the city’s southwest side and nearby southwest suburbs. He had been licensed to practice in Illinois since 1991, according to state records.
Individuals with further information about Dr. Koinis are encouraged to call Cook County Sheriff’s Police at (708) 397-6366. To inquire about personal or family medical records, a medical record line has been set up at (630) 670-1673.