Harris County doctor fired for stealing COVID-19 vaccine, says DA Kim Ogg

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

Officials said Dr Hasan Gokal stole the vial containing nine doses while working at the Lyndsay Lyons Park County vaccination site in Humble on December 29, 2020.

A week later, he told another Harris County public health worker, who then reported him to supervisors.

According to Harris County Public Health, mismanagement of the vaccine could result in the loss of government funding for the county, which has sparked an investigation into the accusation.

Gokal was subsequently fired.

Next, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and County Prosecutor Christian Menefee contacted prosecutors.

“He abused his position to put his friends and family in front of people who had gone through the legal process to be there,” Ogg said. “What he did was illegal and he will be held accountable under the law.”

Officials said Gokal failed to adhere to county protocols in place to ensure the vaccine is not wasted but given to vulnerable populations and frontline workers on a waiting list.

Gokal faces a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of $ 4,000. He is being sued by the Public Corruption Division of the Harris County Attorney’s Office.

Paul Doyle, Gokal’s official lawyer, released a statement Wednesday:

Dr Gokal is a dedicated public servant who ensured that doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that would otherwise have expired were in the arms of people who qualified to receive it. Harris County would have preferred Dr Gokal to let the vaccines go to waste and attempt to denigrate this man’s reputation by supporting this policy. We look forward to our day in court to correct this problem.