District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement Thursday that Dr. Hasan Gokal is accused of theft by a government official, a crime that carries a fine of up to one year in prison and a fine of $ 4,000.
Gokal is accused of taking a nine-dose vial on December 29, 2020. He worked at a vaccination center in Humble, north of Houston, Ogg said.
Authorities allege that the doctor “disregarded provincial protocols to ensure that vaccine is not wasted but administered to vulnerable populations and frontline workers on a waiting list.
“He abused his position to put his friends and family in line in front of people who had gone through the legal process of being there,” Ogg said in the statement. “What he did was illegal, and he will be held accountable under the law.”
Gokal’s lawyer said his client is looking forward to correcting what he calls wrong.
Attorney Paul Doyle said in a statement that the doctor was a dedicated government official who ensured that the dose of COVID-19 vaccine that would otherwise have expired was in the arms of people who met the requirements. “Harris County would prefer that Dr. Gokal dispose of the vaccines and try to diminish this man’s reputation in the process of supporting this policy.”
Gokal told an employee what he had done, and the person reported him to supervisors, authorities said. He was later fired.
Harris County Public Health said it would not release any statement.
Doyle said he would have more to say on the matter Friday.
CNN could not confirm Gokal’s first court appearance.