Texas doctor stole coronavirus vaccine to give to his family and friends, authorities say

A Harris County doctor was fired and faces a criminal charge after authorities say he stole coronavirus vaccine to benefit his family and friends. But his lawyer said Friday that he didn’t give them doses.

Hasan Kassim Gokal, 48, faces one misdemeanor count of theft by a public servant.

Authorities say that on Dec. 29 Gokal stole a vial of the Moderna vaccine that had nine doses in it while working at a county vaccination site in Humble, about 15 miles northeast of Houston.

Gokal’s lawyer, Paul Doyle, said Gokal was simply making sure that doses of the vaccine were used rather than allowed to expire.

“He did everything he could, and used the best judgment he could, to make sure these vaccines were not wasted,” Doyle said Friday at a news conference on Zoom.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Gokal told a colleague about the incident. That person then reported him. Gokal was fired after an investigation by the health department, and the case was referred to prosecutors.

“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,” Ogg said. “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 is given to front-line workers and people at higher risk for COVID-19 complications instead of being wasted. She added that mishandling the vaccine can lead to the county’s government funding being cut.

Doyle said “the investigation lacked due diligence” because investigators never reached out to Gokal for an interview during their eight-day investigation. He also said the DA’s statement that Gokal stole the vial to benefit his friends and family is “absolutely false.”

Before the vaccination clinic, Harris County public health officials were instructed by the state health department to do everything possible not to waste doses of the vaccine, Doyle said. He said the team was not given much instruction about what to do with leftover doses.

On the day of the clinic, Gokal and the team were wrapping up vaccinations that evening when a man eligible for inoculation drove up, Doyle said. Gokal had to open a new vial to vaccinate him, meaning the rest of the doses in it would expire within a few hours if not distributed, Doyle said.

“He looked at the staff first that were still out there, most of which had already received the vaccine, and then also at the law enforcement members,” Doyle said. “Not having anyone there and no more traffic [coming in], he’s trying to decide what to do with his No. 1 goal, which was directed by … the state department of health services: Do not waste the dose.”

He then began texting friends to see if they knew of anyone who was eligible and would be available before the doses expired, Doyle said.

People who Gokal vaccinated that day included a 93-year-old woman who is bed bound, an 86-year-old woman with dementia, a 40-year-old woman who had multiple underlying health conditions and is the mother of a child who is intubated, and a 22-year-old woman who had multiple underlying health conditions, Doyle said. All of the patients were friends of friends, he said.

At 11:45 p.m., 15 to 30 minutes before the doses expired, Gokal vaccinated his wife, who has multiple underlying conditions, Doyle said. She was the only family member who received a vaccine from the vial, he said.

Doyle said it is clear that Gokal was not trying to benefit his family because he did not give a vaccine to his 76-year-old-father, who did not sign up for the first clinic in time and had to be put on a wait list.

“If he was trying to take care of his family and friends, and that was his MO, his father certainly would have been vaccinated,” Doyle said. “It’s just not true.”

If convicted, Gokal faces up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Gokal does not have any disciplinary history with the Texas Medical Board.

In Dallas, Baylor Scott and White Health in a statement that it has “developed and implemented several measures to secure our vaccine supply. These measures include strict access controls, record keeping and on-site security.”

Parkland Hospital declined to comment on what measures it was taking to prevent a similar theft, saying it doesn’t comment on security measures. UT Southwestern Medical Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment.