Judge launches accusation of theft against Texan doctor accused of stealing coronavirus vaccine

A Harris County judge filed a criminal case against a doctor accused of stealing nine doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

Judge Franklin Bynum wrote in his order on Monday rejecting the case that there was no probable cause to accuse Hasan Gokal of misdemeanor theft.

Gokal’s lawyer said his client, who was fired after an investigation by the county’s public health department, was just making sure the vaccine didn’t go to waste.

“He did everything he could and used the best judgment he could to ensure that these vaccines were not wasted,” said lawyer Paul Doyle at a news conference last week.

Doyle said Gokal was working at a vaccination site in Humble when someone eligible for the vaccine arrived later in the day. Gokal had to open a new vial of Moderna vaccine to vaccinate that man, and the remaining doses in the vial would spoil in a few hours if not used.

After determining that there were no staff members or law enforcement officials in place to immunize, Gokal texted friends to see if they knew eligible people, Doyle said.

Gokal administered doses to elderly women and people with underlying health problems and then gave the last dose to his wife – who has several underlying problems – minutes before the doses expired, according to Doyle. He completed the necessary documentation for the doses.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg claimed in a statement that Gokal had “abused his position to put his friends and family in line” ahead of others, but the judge rejected what he called a new theory that did not it corresponded to a county robbery.

In addition, Bynum wrote, the testimony alleging the crime was “riddled with negligence and errors” and the credibility of the statements in it has not been established.

Doyle said in a statement on Monday that the apology from the district attorney and the health department would not be sufficient and that an illegal termination process was underway.

“The agency downplayed the name of this good civil servant and took his job without cause,” he said. “More needs to be done by those responsible to fix this.”