Customs officials in Seattle seize unapproved COVID medicine

SEATTLE -- 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. 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.

CBP said the use of unauthorized medications can give consumers a false sense of security and can be dangerous or fatal.