Customs officials in Seattle seize unapproved COVID medicine.

SEATTLE (AP) — Customs officials say they seized a shipment of unauthorized COVID-19 medication at the Port of Seattle.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday the seizure involved 360 pills of Lianhua Qingwen. The medicine has been used in China and some other countries to treat the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, but it remains unapproved in the U.S.

CBP spokesman Jason Givens said the package was arriving from Canada when it was seized Wednesday.

"The use of unauthorized medications can give consumers a false sense of security and prove fatal in some instances. Unauthorized products that claim to cure, treat or prevent serious illnesses such as COVID-19 may cause individuals to delay or stop appropriate medical treatment, leading to serious harm," Givens said in a press release.

Agents in Baltimore seized a shipment of 1,200 capsules from Hong Kong earlier this month, and on Tuesday agents in Chicago confiscated three shipments from China totaling 28,800 capsules.

http://komonews.com/news/coronavirus/customs-officials-in-seattle-seize-unapproved-covid-medicine