Community reactions were mixed to last week’s suspension of Dr. Ming Te Lin, a well-known – and unorthodox – physician who has practiced in Flossmoor for decades.
Supporters and critics of Dr. Lin in the Homewood-Flossmoor area voiced their opinions on social media following the temporary suspension of his medical license on Sept. 28 by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).
In announcing the suspension, the IDFPR said Lin admitted formulating a vaccine containing vodka and cat saliva.
“I have used Dr. Lin for years for my children,” one woman wrote on Facebook Oct. 2. “My kids never get sick thanks to Dr Lin’s loving and conscientious care. He uses homeopathy, a very misunderstood method of healing … the medical board doesn’t like anybody alternative and ‘different.’ He must have been helping too many people. I trust him implicitly from 20 years of personal experience.”
Several persons on the social media exchange were critical of Lin. But four other people said they support him and his methods, which include homeopathy and oriental medicine.
Another writer said Lin is “well known and very professional, empathetic and adored by most of his patients.”
One Facebook critic said the situation was horrible. “My children have allergies and I actually considered going to him … Thank God I didn’t,” she wrote.
Lin is not permitted to practice medicine and must appear before an administrative law judge at a hearing of the IDFPR and state Medical Licensing Board. Terry Horstman, an IDFPR public information officer, told the H-F Chronicle Tuesday that the hearing was originally scheduled for Oct. 11 in Chicago, but has been postponed and will be rescheduled.
State officials said the emergency suspension was issued to protect the public interest, safety and welfare. Lin, the officials said, represents a danger to the public if he continues to practice medicine.
According to IDFPR investigators, Lin violated U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines by administrating vaccines orally to his patients. Lin told investigators that he gave patients the vaccines orally if they had autism, eczema or neurological disorders. The state agency also said that Lin was required to tell the parents of those patients about the possible risks or benefits of oral vaccinations but failed to do so.
“The department received complaints from several health care practitioners indicating they have encountered a number of patients that received vaccinations orally” from Lin, the IDFPR suspension states.
The FDA recommends that vaccinations be administered through an injection.
Investigators looked at the records of five children who were Lin’s patients, some of whom had been under his care for several years. The records showed that he vaccinated them for a number of illnesses, including diphtheria, measles, mumps, chickenpox, tetanus, hepatitis and polio. All five of the children received their vaccinations orally, investigators said.
In recent months, two of the children had blood tests and the results showed negative vaccination results. Those children subsequently received vaccinations by injection from another doctor.
When investigators told Lin about the negative vaccination results, he reportedly said he was not surprised because his vaccine “fights the body’s immune system in a different manner,” according to the IDFPR suspension document.
Lin told investigators that he modifies vaccines by adding “water, alcohol and energy,” The energy, he claimed, comes from a machine called the WaveFront 2000, which he said detoxifies mercury in the vaccine. Lin said he uses the machine and then administers the vaccine. He demonstrated the machine to investigators.
According to the suspension document, Lin told investigators he used small amounts of vodka as the additional alcohol in the vaccine.
He also said that cat saliva was added to vaccines. He said he used a Q-tip to get saliva from a cat’s mouth and mixed the results with water and alcohol.
During the April visit, investigators said Lin’s office was “cluttered” and “without [a] visible sterile and/or clean field.” Investigators found a box with tubes and vials that Lin used to make his vaccines, their report says.
During his years as a doctor, Lin has never before been cited for misconduct, Horstman said.
On Facebook, Lin’s supporters said his office is not lined with vodka bottles and containers of cat spit. Alcohol is commonly used in tinctures, one writer said. Cat saliva might make sense in a vaccine for allergies, another said.
“This sounds like a witch hunt,” one supporter wrote. “His office is clean and organized. He is a board certified physician and his staff is always professional.”
