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In recent years, Dr Gokal has divided his time between two hospitals in the region. But when the pandemic struck in early 2020, he lived for a month in a hotel and apartment rather than risk infecting his wife, Maria, 47, who has pulmonary sarcoidosis, a lung disease that leaves her breathless. after even minimal activity.
“I was petrified of going home and bringing Covid to my wife,” he says.
Fortunately, he said, the Harris County Public Health Department recruited him in April to become the medical director of its Covid response team. Work paid less, but he was eager to protect his wife by limiting her exposure to the coronavirus in emergency rooms.
On December 22, Dr Gokal joined a conference call in which state health officials explained the protocols for administering the recently approved Moderna vaccine. The 10 or 11 doses in a vial are viable for six hours after the seal is punctured.
Dr Gokal said the advice was to vaccinate those eligible in Category 1 (a) (healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities), and then those in Category 1 (b) (people over age 65 or condition that increases the risk of serious illness from Covid).
After that, he said, the message was, “Just put it in people’s arms. We don’t want to waste any doses. Period.”
On December 29, a mild Tuesday, Dr Gokal arrived before dawn at a suburban Houston park in Humble to oversee a vaccination event primarily intended for emergency workers. In part due to minimal publicity, the pace was slow, with no more than 250 doses administered. But it was the county’s first public event, he said. “We knew there would be the hiccups.”
At approximately 6:45 p.m., as the event was winding down, an eligible person arrived for a shot. A nurse pierced a new vial to administer the vaccine, which activated the six-hour time limit for the remaining 10 doses.
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