What to do with decreasing doses of coronavirus vaccines has been hotly debated since the vaccinations began in December. For a doctor in Texas, the decision to administer vaccines that were about to expire resulted in him losing his job and facing criminal charges, he told the New York Times in a story released Thursday.
Dr. Hasan Gokal explained why he administered the vaccine, saying he had an ethical duty to ensure that all doses of coronavirus vaccines are not lost. But in doing that, it cost him his job.
Last week, the Texas Medical Association released a letter supporting Gokal’s actions.
“Nearly all of the doctors’ offices that have been given the COVID-19 vaccine to administer sometimes struggle at the end of the day to immunize someone – whether they meet the priority criteria or not – to prevent the vaccine from being wasted in a pierced vial, ”the organization said in a statement. “It is difficult to understand any justification for charging a well-meaning physician with a criminal offense in this situation.”
The Texas Medical Association added, “They should be welcomed, not penalized for this.”
Gokal told the New York Times that at the end of a coronavirus vaccine distribution, they opened a full vial of vaccine for the last patient. After opening the vial, the vaccine should be administered within six hours. The vial contained 11 doses, but they only needed one to complete the distribution of the vaccine.
Gokal told the New York Times that he first offered the vaccine to staff administering the vaccine, but those who attended either refused or had already been vaccinated. He then took it upon himself to vaccinate those he knew who are at higher risk. The last person he vaccinated was his wife, who has lung sarcoidosis.
Gokal was charged with stealing the vaccine doses, but those charges were later dropped.
A district attorney in Harris County, Texas, accused Gokal of “misusing” the vaccine.
“He abused his position to line his friends and family for people who had gone through legal process to be there,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement last month. “What he did was illegal and he will be held responsible under the law.”
It’s a problem across the country to make sure the vaccines get to the right people, or to make sure that doses are not wasted. Health workers in Oregon were administering coronavirus vaccines on a highway late last month when they were trapped in a traffic jam, allegedly expiring the doses they were carrying. In Seattle, a freezer intended to store coronavirus vaccines went out, prompting a hospital to make an appeal via social media for those who want and can get vaccinated in the middle of the night.
To read the full New York Times story, click here.