Texas doctor fired for stealing 10 doses of Moderna vaccine that were 'due to expire in six hours' says he took them to give to strangers and acquaintances with underlying conditions - and his wife

 The doctor from Texas who was fired and charged after he administered 10 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to acquaintances and strangers - including one to his wife - had just hours to get rid of them, not wanting any to go to 'waste.' 

Authorities alleged that Dr. Hasan Gokal, who worked for Harris County Public Health, stole a vial containing 10 doses of the Moderna vaccine while working at a vaccination site at Lyndsay Lyons Park, in Humble, on December 29.  

Gokal was fired after an internal investigation by the health department and the doctor shared that he's struggled adjusting after the fallout.

'It was my world coming down,' Dr. Gokal told the New York Times 'To have everything collapse on you. God, it was the lowest moment in my life.'  

He had been charged with a misdemeanor count of theft by a public servant, but the case was dismissed by criminal court judge Franklin Bynum.  

'In the number of words usually taken to describe an allegation of retail shoplifting, the State attempts, for the first time, to criminalize a doctor's documented administration of vaccine doses during a public health emergency,' Bynum wrote. 'The Court emphatically rejects this attempted imposition of the criminal law on the professional decisions of a physician.' 

Gokal was fired after an internal investigation by the health department and the doctor shared that he's struggled adjusting after the fallout. Harris County Public Health in Houston, Texas

Gokal was fired after an internal investigation by the health department and the doctor shared that he's struggled adjusting after the fallout. Harris County Public Health in Houston, Texas

Prosecutors have vowed that they plan to take the case to a grand jury, portraying the doctor as a calculated opportunist.   

The 48-year-old immigrated from Pakistan as a boy and earned his medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. He moved to Texas in 2009 to oversee the emergency department at the hospital after working in Central New York. 

In the early days of the pandemic, Dr. Gokal lived in a hotel and then moved apartment out of fear of infecting his wife, Maria - one of the people he gave vaccine to. 

The 47-year-old suffers from pulmonary sarcoidosis, a disease in the lungs that leaves Maria winded after doing little activity.

On Dec. 29, Dr. Gokal had been supervising a vaccination event in the Humble suburb for emergency workers. Toward the end, someone came to get a shot and activated the seal for the remaining 10 doses in the vial. The doctor asked workers and police at the event, but most refused or had already had the vaccine.

On Dec. 29, Dr. Gokal had been supervising a vaccination event in the Humble suburb for emergency workers. Toward the end, someone came to get a shot and activated the seal for the remaining 10 doses in the vial. The doctor asked workers and police at the event, but most refused or had already had the vaccine.

'I was petrified to go home and bring Covid to my wife,' the doctor said.

Dr. Gokal described being recruited to be the medical director for Harris County Public Health's Covid-response team in April. While the job paid less, the doctor was thrilled the job would allow him to better protect his wife and limit her exposure to the virus, he said, according to the Times.

During a Dec. 22 conference call, state officials advised Gokal to administer the Moderna vaccine to people who worked in health care or to residents in long-term care facilities and then those who were over 65 or with health conditions who had increased risk of getting coronavirus. 

The vials, containing 10 or 11 doses, are viable for six hours after the seal is punctured. 

Dr. Gokal said that beyond the two groups, the messaging on administering the vaccines was simple: 'Just put it in people's arms. We don't want any doses to go to waste. Period.'


He told the Times that on Dec. 29, he had been supervising a vaccination event in the Humble suburb for emergency workers. The pace of administering the doses was slow, as publicity had been kept to a minimum. No more than 250 doses were administered during the event, which Dr. Gokal explained was the first for the county.   

'We knew there would be hiccups,' he said. 

As the event began to wind down at around 6.45pm, an eligible person arrived for a shot and started the six-hour time limit for the remaining 10 doses. 

Dr. Gokal immediately jumped into action, first asking the approximately 20 workers who were still at the event. Most either refused or had already been vaccinated. Of the two police officers still on site, one had already been given the shot and the other refused.   

The doctor claims he then called a Harris County public official in charge of operations, sharing his plan to give out the remaining 10 doses. He said he was told: 'OK,' he said.

So he went home, calling people in his cellphone and asking them if they had family or friends that fit within the criteria After administering 9 doses, he finally gave his wife - 47-year-old Maria (pictured) - a shot. Maria suffers from pulmonary sarcoidosis, a disease in the lungs that leaves her winded after doing little activity

So he went home, calling people in his cellphone and asking them if they had family or friends that fit within the criteria After administering 9 doses, he finally gave his wife - 47-year-old Maria (pictured) - a shot. Maria suffers from pulmonary sarcoidosis, a disease in the lungs that leaves her winded after doing little activity

Calling other colleagues but not getting answers, Dr. Gokal started his drive home to Sugar Land and began calling people from his cellphone's contact list, asking if they had older relatives or neighbors who needed to be vaccinated.

'No one I was really intimately familiar with,' Dr. Gokal explained. 'I wasn't that close to anyone.'

When he got home, a woman in her mid-60s with cardiac issues and a woman in her early-70s with a myriad of health problems were waiting outside. Both were given shots of the vaccine. 

The doctor and his wife then drove to a nearby Sugar Land home and immunized four people there. Those included a man in his late 60s with health issues; the man's 90-something bed-bound mother; his mother-in-law, a woman in her mid-80s with severe dementia; and his wife, caregiver for her mother. 

With six doses down and four to go, the doctor then drove to a housebound woman in her late 70s and gave her the vaccine. 

'I didn't know her at all,' he added. 

Three people agreed to meet the doctor back at his home, securing the last remaining doses. One was an acquaintance in her mid-50s who works at a health clinic front desk and the other was a middle-aged woman who he hadn't met but whose child relies on a ventilator. 

The third would then inform Dr. Gokal that they would no longer be able to get to him in time. It was approaching midnight and time on the remaining dose was running out.

Dr. Gokal was promptly fired after reporting the 10 doses. The officials explained to Dr. Gokal that he had violated protocol, adding that he should have returned the remaining doses or thrown them out, he claims

Dr. Gokal was promptly fired after reporting the 10 doses. The officials explained to Dr. Gokal that he had violated protocol, adding that he should have returned the remaining doses or thrown them out, he claims

It was then that the exhausted doctor turned to his wife, who was eligible for the vaccine given her condition.   

 'I didn't intend to give this to you, but in a half-hour I'm going to have to dump this down the toilet,' he remembered telling her. 'It's as simple as that.' 

His wife was hesitant, wondering if it was the right thing to do. The couple had 15 minutes left to act.

'It makes perfect sense,' he said he answered. 'We don't want any doses wasted, period.'

Dr. Gokal would submit the paperwork on the 10 people he vaccinated the following morning. He also told his supervisor and colleagues what he had done and why.

The doctor also said that he was rattled when asked why there appeared to be a lack of 'equity' among those he vaccinated. 'Are you suggesting that there were too many Indian names in that group?' Dr. Gokal recalled asking the official, who he said confirmed that was the case

The doctor also said that he was rattled when asked why there appeared to be a lack of 'equity' among those he vaccinated. 'Are you suggesting that there were too many Indian names in that group?' Dr. Gokal recalled asking the official, who he said confirmed that was the case

The doctor was summoned to appear before his supervisor and human resources director, several days later, asked whether he had administered the doses outside of the scheduled time on Dec. 29. 

After explaining that he had, following guidelines, he was promptly fired. The officials explained to Dr. Gokal that he had violated protocol, adding that he should have returned the remaining doses or thrown them out, he claims. 

The doctor also said that he was rattled when asked why there appeared to be a lack of 'equity' among those he vaccinated.  

'Are you suggesting that there were too many Indian names in that group?' Dr. Gokal recalled asking the official, who he said confirmed that was the case. 

Elizabeth Perez, director of communications for Harris County Public Health, told the Times that the department was unable to comment on anything relating to the incident or Dr. Gokal's case.

Dr. Gokal shared that he learned of the charges after reporters gathered at his home following news of them from the Harris County district attorney, Kim Ogg. 

'He abused his position to place his friends and family in line in front of people who had gone through the lawful process to be there,' Kim Ogg said in the initial release announcing the charges.

'What he did was illegal and he'll be held accountable under the law.'

Ogg said Gokal ignored protocols intended to ensure that the vaccine was given to front-line workers and people at higher risk for COVID-19 complications instead of being wasted, adding that mishandling the vaccine could lead to the county's government funding being cut. 

But soon Dr. Gokal began receiving calls from relatives and friends in Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.  

'Many were calling me for support, telling me, 'We know you better than that,' he said. 'But there were a lot of people who didn't call.'

The doctor said he has struggled since the fallout. Hospitals have all but ostracized the doctor until he has the case resolved, adding to the already difficult pressure of having lost his job, he said.

Dr. Gokal now spends his time volunteering at a nonprofit health clinic for the uninsured, still haunted by the story tied to his name.  

'How can I take it back?' that doctor asked. 

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