Harris County Health Doctor fired accused of stealing COVID-19 vaccine, says DA Kim Ogg

A Harris County public health doctor is accused of stealing a bottle of COVID-19 vaccine, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday.

Officials said Dr. Hasan Gokal stole the nine-dose vial while working at the county vaccination site in Lyndsay Lyons Park, Humble, on Dec. 29, 2020.

A week later, he reported it to a Harris County health colleague, who reported it to supervisors.

According to Harris County Public Health, the mishandling of the vaccine could result in the loss of government funding for the county, prompting an investigation into the indictment.

Gokal was later fired.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and County Attorney Christian Menefee then contacted prosecutors.

“He abused his position to place 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 responsible according to the law.”

Officials said Gokal ignored county protocols to ensure the vaccine was not wasted, but was administered to vulnerable populations and front-line workers on waiting lists.

Gokal faces a Class A felony, which carries a sentence of up to one year in prison and a $ 4,000 fine. He is being prosecuted by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for Public Corruption.

Paul Doyle, Gokal’s registered attorney, issued a statement Wednesday:

Dr. Gokal is a dedicated official who ensures that doses of COVID-19 vaccine that would otherwise have expired would fall into the arms of people who meet the criteria to receive it. Harris County would have preferred Dr. Gokal to leave the missed vaccines and try to underestimate this man’s reputation in the process to support this policy. We look forward to our court day to correct this mistake.