Health officials in a southwest Chicago suburb are urging patients to check their immunization records after a well-known pediatrician left a suicide note suggesting he did not always administer required vaccines, reports The Washington Post.
Van Koinis, DO, a pediatrician in Evergreen Park, Ill., took his own life in September. On Feb. 11, the Cook County Sheriff's Office disclosed the content of Dr. Koinis' suicide note.
The letter implies that Dr. Koinis falsified medical records for parents who did not want their kids to receive vaccines required for school-aged children under Illinois law. The suicide note did not suggest that Dr. Koinis withheld vaccinations from parents seeking them for their children, according to the sheriff's office.
Officials are investigating these allegations, although it is not immediately clear which children have received required vaccines, due to Dr. Koinis' poor record-keeping.