"An absolute, utter shock": Doctor fired after giving away expiring doses of COVID-19 vaccine speaks out - CBS News

Hasan Gokal decided to give away 10 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that were on the verge of going to waste, in what he thought was the responsible decision.

The Houston doctor worked as Texas' Harris County Public Health Department emergency response physician for the Office of Preparedness.

So, a new vial of the Moderna vaccine containing 11 doses was punctured to administer the vaccine, which activated the six-hour time limit for the 10 remaining doses. .

Gokal said he was determined not to waste them.

"This is a 5 million person county and we had the first 3,000 thousand doses.

Gokal said his first reaction was to offer the doses to the event's workers, but they had either already gotten inoculated or declined.

With no other options, Gokal called a Harris County public health official in charge of operations to share his plan to find 10 people and administer them the remaining doses.

Because the event was the first time Harris County began vaccinating the public, Gokal said there were no protocol from the county that he could've followed at that point: "They did not exist.

But he said there was guidance from the Texas Department of State Health Services to always try to find eligible people in that tier when there are leftovers vaccine doses at the end of a shift.

The agency's message, Gokal said, was clear: "We don't want any doses wasted.

The Harris County Public Health Office of Communications said the department was unable to comment on the Gokal case.

Two weeks after being terminated, the doctor found out he had been charged with theft and accused of breaking county protocols by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

She said a week had passed before "he told a fellow Harris County Public Health employee, who then reported him to supervisors.".

Gokal said he gets tears to his eyes each time he recounts the moment he found out that charges had been filed against him.

Gokal said he hopes that his experience won't cause other doctors to lose their moral compass and to be dissuaded from doing "the right thing" when it comes to making decisions

"It's unfortunate I was the first one on the scene with this type of a situation and not several down the line, when they were realizing this should happen every time," he said

For now, Gokal spends his time volunteering at a charity health clinic