Texas doctor stole coronavirus vaccine to give to his family and friends, authorities say
An attorney for Hasan Gokal says the since-fired public-health doctor was making sure unused doses didn’t go to waste.
File photo.(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer) Revised with additional details.
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.
Texas Health Official Charged for Stealing Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Claims He Didn t Want Them to Go to Waste insideedition.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insideedition.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A doctor in Harris County, Texas, has been accused of taking a vial of Covid-19 vaccine for his personal use. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday that Dr Hasan Gokal was being charged with theft by a public servant after allegedly stealing a vial of the vaccine containing nine doses. The vaccine theft allegedly happened on December 29, when Gokal was working at the county vaccination site at Lyndsay Lyons Park in Humble,.
COVID-19 vaccine.
Kim Ogg announced says
Dr. Hasan Gokal allegedly stole the vial that contained nine doses while working at the county vaccination site at
Lyndsay Lyons Park, in
Humble, on December 29. A week later, he is said to have told a fellow Harris County Public Health employee, who then reported him to supervisors.
Mishandling vaccine can result in a loss of government funding to the county, according to Harris County Public Health, which first investigated the matter and then fired the doctor.
“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.
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