Man injected ‘unknown substance’ into people expecting COVID vaccine, WA officials say

A Washington man is accused of advertising an “unknown substance” as a COVID-19 vaccine and selling it for up to $1,000, the Washington State Attorney General said.

Johnny Stine was arrested Thursday on a federal warrant that charged him with “introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce,” officials said in a news release.

Stine, 55, said he is the founder and president of a biotech company called North Coast Biologics. Since March, Stine has attempted to sell what he advertised as a COVID-19 vaccine for $400-$1,000 each, according to the State Attorney General.

This month, at least one person told law enforcement officials they were hospitalized with COVID-19 after Stine reportedly had “vaccinated” them earlier in the year, officials said.

“Untested, untried and potentially unsafe – this defendant was injecting people with an unknown substance claiming it was a vaccine for COVID-19,” U.S. Attorney Brian Moran said in a news release. “Preying on our fears in the midst of this pandemic is unconscionable..”

In March, Food and Drug Administration officials went undercover and contacted Stine when he began posting about a COVID-19 vaccine on social media, officials said. He told officials he had previously created vaccines for cancer tumors and used that knowledge to create a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the State Attorney General.

Over the next month, Stine met with undercover investigators, and he offered to travel to Oregon and California to vaccinate the agents’ family members, officials said.

By late April, the Washington State Attorney General issued a cease and desist letter and told Stine to stop offering his “vaccine,” according to officials. Stine told officials the letter increased demand for his injections.

In June, Stine signed a consent decree where he agreed not to sell or promote his “vaccine.” Two months later, Stine spoke with an undercover agent and went to Idaho to “vaccinate” the agent.

Officials seized the “vaccine” in Idaho and agents executed a search warrant on Stine’s Redmond, Washington, warehouse, according to the State Attorney General.

“Unproven injectable vaccines purported to prevent or treat COVID-19, made from unknown substances under unknown conditions, present significant health risks in and of themselves,” FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Official Lisa L. Malinowski said in the news release. ”They also can lead consumers to make lifestyle choices that increase their actual risk of infection with COVID-19, or to delay or stop appropriate medical treatment.”

Stine is charged with misdemeanor federal crimes that are punishable by up to one year in prison.

There are currently two COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S. by the FDA. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were authorized for use in December after undergoing clinical trials.

This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 7:50 AM with the headline "Man injected ‘unknown substance’ into people expecting COVID vaccine, WA officials say."