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(Journalist)
– Houston doctor fired for allegedly stealing doses of coronavirus vaccine says he’s not the bad guy reports around the world make of him. Hasan Gokal recounts the New York Times that after a nurse punctured an 11-dose vial to administer a vaccination during an event to vaccinate emergency workers on December 29, he had to figure out what to do with the remaining doses before they were released. ‘expire in a few hours. Gokal, who was overseeing the event, said health workers and police at the scene refused him or had already been vaccinated. He says after a Harris County official approved his plan for distributing the remaining doses, he started calling people on his phone’s contact list on his way home to find eligible recipients.
Gokal says he vaccinated nine mostly elderly people, including a woman in her 90s, but had one dose left after the end recipient called shortly before the deadline to say they couldn’t. not go home. He says that with a few minutes he vaccinated his wife, whose lung disease made her eligible. Gokal says he told her, “I wasn’t planning on giving this to you, but in half an hour I’m going to have to flush it down the toilet.” He was fired a few days after informing his supervisor about the vaccinations and submitting documents. He says officials told him he should have brought the doses back to the office – where they would have expired – or thrown away. He was charged with stealing the vaccine doses, worth $ 135. A judge dismissed the charge a few days later, but the local prosecutor plans to present it to a grand jury, ABC13 reports. The Texas Medical Association has released a statement supporting physicians taking action to avoid wasted doses. (Read more stories about coronavirus vaccines.)
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