Harris County Health doctor fired accused of stealing COVID-19 vaccine, DA Kim Ogg says

A Harris County Public Health doctor is accused of stealing a vial of the COVID-19 vaccine, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced in a press release on Thursday.

Officials said Dr. Hasan Gokal stole the nine-dose vial while working at the provincial vaccination site at Lyndsay Lyons Park in Humble on Dec. 29, 2020.

A week later, he told a fellow Harris County Public Health employee, who then reported him to executives.

According to Harris County Public Health, mishandling the vaccine could lead to the loss of government funding for the county, prompting an investigation into the accusation.

Gokal was subsequently fired.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and County Attorney Christian Menefee then contacted prosecutors.

“He abused his position to line up his friends and family for people who had gone through legal process to be there,” Ogg said. “What he did was illegal and he will be held responsible under the law.”

Officials said Gokal ignored provincial protocols to ensure that the vaccine is not wasted, but administered to vulnerable populations and front-line workers on a waiting list.

Gokal is facing a Class A Misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to one year in prison and a fine of $ 4,000. He is being prosecuted by the Public Corruption Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

Paul Doyle, Gokal’s attorney, released a statement on Wednesday:

Dr. Gokal is a dedicated public servant who made sure that dosages of the COVID-19 vaccine that would otherwise have passed into the arms of people who met the criteria to receive it. Harris County would have preferred Dr. Gokal to lose the vaccines and is trying to belittle this man’s reputation in the process of supporting this policy. We look forward to our day in court to correct this mistake.