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A Texas judge has dismissed the criminal case against a doctor accused of stealing nine doses of COVID-19 vaccine – but prosecutors say they will still pursue prosecutions.
Harris County Court Judge Franklin Bynum on Monday dismissed the misdemeanor theft with an official charge against Dr Hasan Gokal, ruling that no probable cause exists in the case against the emergency doctor who was later fired by Harris County Public Health. , reported the Houston Chronicle.
“In the number of words commonly used to describe an allegation of retail shoplifting, the state is attempting, for the first time, to criminalize the documented administration by a physician of doses of vaccine during a public health emergency Bynum wrote in his prescription.
The judge also said the probable cause complaint filed against Gokal – who had faced up to a year in prison and a $ 4,000 fine – was “riddled with negligence and error,” the Chronicle reported.
Gokal has been accused of stealing a vial containing nine doses of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine that he said was not used while working at a vaccination site in Humble County on December 29.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Thursday that Gokal then informed a colleague of his actions a week later, which led to his dismissal following an investigation by officials of the county health.
Gokal said through his lawyer Paul Doyle that he opened a vial of Moderna vaccine at the end of the day and offered the remaining doses to health workers and cops at the site, but they refused or had already been vaccinated, the Chronicle reported. .
The doctor then called a supervisor who had no available patients on hand, prompting Gokal to turn to his cell phone to find contacts to dispense around nine off-site doses to elderly residents or those with pre-existing health problems. The final dose was given to his sick wife, according to the report.
Gokal, who started working for the county last April, reportedly said he put the names of the patients in a state database. But despite Monday’s sacking, prosecutors said they still intend to pursue legal action against the now sacked doctor.
“Judge Bynum’s gratuitous observations call into question his fairness and impartiality,” Ogg spokesman Dane Schiller told The Chronicle. “We plan to present all the relevant evidence to a grand jury.”
Gokal’s attorney, meanwhile, is now planning a wrongful dismissal action against Harris County.
“We appreciate today’s outcome and will now shift our efforts to wrongful dismissal action,” Doyle told KTRK.
“As I stated publicly last week, an apology from Harris County Public Health and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to Dr. Gokal and his family will not be enough. The agency denigrated the name of this good civil servant and took his job away without cause.
Doyle said he also hopes the incident doesn’t deter other medical workers from “doing all they can” to make sure available vaccines don’t go unused.
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