District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement Thursday that Dr. Hasan Gokal is charged with theft by a civil servant, a crime that imposes 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 site in Humble, north of Houston, Ogg said.
Authorities allege the doctor “ignored county protocols in place to ensure that the vaccine is not wasted, but administered to vulnerable populations and front-line workers on a waiting list.”
“He abused his position to line his friends and family for people who had gone through legal process to be there,” Ogg said in the statement. “What he did was illegal and he will be held responsible under the law.”
Gokal’s lawyer said his client is looking forward to rectifying what he calls a mistake.
The doctor is “a dedicated public servant who made sure that dosages of the COVID-19 vaccine that would otherwise have expired went into the arms of people who met the criteria to receive it,” attorney Paul Doyle said in a statement. “Harris County would have preferred Dr. Gokal to let the vaccines go to waste and is trying to belittle this man’s reputation in the process of supporting this policy.”
Gokal told a colleague what he was doing and that person reported him to executives, authorities said. He was later fired.
Harris County Public Health said it will not release a statement.
Doyle said he expected to say more on the matter on Friday.
CNN has not been able to confirm Gokal’s first appearance.