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Hasan Gokal, a doctor from Texas, made national headlines when he was fired from Harris County Public Health (HCPH) in January after being accused of stealing COVID-19 vaccines and giving them to friends and family.
Gokal denied the charges, saying he was being punished for administering 10 doses of the Moderna vaccine from an already opened vial that was about to expire to at-risk patients in his community.
A judge initially dismissed the charges against him, and in June a grand jury ruled that no criminal charges were warranted against Gokal. The Texas Medical Board also dismissed a complaint against him in March.
Gokal is now suing Harris County Public Health for more than $ 1 million in damages, alleging that the agency discriminated against him because of his South Asian race and Pakistani origin.
“Dr Gokal tried to save lives regardless of race,” the lawsuit says, but HCPH fired him for not distributing the vaccine “fairly” and for administering the vaccine to “too many people. at-risk patients looking ‘Indian’ “.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, accuses HCPH of providing misinformation to the district attorney’s office and the Texas Medical Council to justify Gokal’s dismissal, saying he “suffered a tortured six-month criminal investigation over the course of whereby his reputation was tarnished, his confidence was shattered, and he and his family were subjected to emotional distress. “
An HCPH spokesperson declined to comment on the trial. The district attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Gokal told BuzzFeed News he filed a lawsuit in hopes of revealing details of his side of the story and a “pattern” of discrimination to the public health agency.
He said he was also concerned about the way the public health service “approached people from certain minorities” in his community and wanted to draw attention to this.
On December 29, Gokal, who at the time was HCPH’s medical advisor for the COVID-19 vaccine deployment, oversaw the county’s first vaccine distribution event.
There were 10 doses of Moderna vaccine left in a vial that had been opened just as the vaccination site was closing overnight, and Gokal had six hours to administer the doses before they expired.
He asked various staff at the scene, including two police officers, if they wanted to be vaccinated, but they had all already received an injection or refused to be vaccinated, according to the lawsuit.
After notifying his supervisor that he was going to find people to immunize, Gokal made calls and lined up 10 people in his community who were at risk due to underlying health issues. Some patients came to his home for vaccinations, while he made home visits to vaccinate others.
After a patient could not arrive on time and with a few minutes to spare before the vaccine expired, Gokal gave his wife – who suffers from lung disease – the last dose.
On January 7, HCPH officials fired Gokal after accusing him of stealing the vaccine and not distributing it “fairly”.
“But what do you mean by ‘fairly’? Hasan told BuzzFeed News he asked them during his dismissal meeting. “Are you saying there are too many Indian names in the group?”
“They said ‘exactly’,” Hassan said.
Officials also told him he should have thrown away the vaccines instead, according to the lawsuit.
Weeks later, Kim Ogg, the Harris County District Attorney, charged Gokal with theft by an official, accusing him of stealing a vial of COVID-19 vaccine.
“He abused his position to put his friends and family online in front of people who had gone through the legal process to be there,” Ogg said in a press release. “What he did was illegal and he will be held accountable under the law.”
Gokal said that apart from his wife, none of the other patients were family or friends. Some were acquaintances, neighbors or acquaintances of acquaintances, he said. They were all South Asian because he lived in a predominantly South Asian community, Gokal said.
Ogg also accused Gokal of ignoring county protocols to ensure vaccines were not wasted and were only given to eligible people on a “waiting list.”
However, at the time, HCPH did not have its protocols in place or a written waiting list for the vaccine in place, according to the lawsuit.
After a criminal court judge dismissed the case against Gokal, the district attorney took the case to a grand jury who also found no likely reason to prosecute him.
HCPH also filed a complaint with the Texas Medical Board to withdraw its license from Gokal, but the board dismissed the complaint, saying Gokal administered doses to eligible patients “that would otherwise have been wasted.”
The lawsuit says Gokal is struggling to find another job after HCPH’s “disinformation campaign” has turned away potential employers.
“Imagine if I was a white doctor and I went out and [the vaccine] to 10 blanks. Do you think I would have asked someone that ‘you didn’t do it fairly because there were too many whites in your group?’ “Gokal told BuzzFeed News.” I can’t do it all. just not imagine that. “
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