Vrede too wrote: ↑Thu Feb 11, 2021 1:08 pm
The Vaccine Had to Be Used. He Used It. He Was Fired.
The Texas doctor had six hours. Now that a vial of COVID-19 vaccine had been opened on this late December night, he had to find 10 eligible people for its remaining doses before the precious medicine expired. In six hours.
Scrambling, the doctor made house calls and directed people to his home outside Houston. Some were acquaintances; others, strangers. A bed-bound nonagenarian. A woman in her 80s with dementia. A mother with a child who uses a ventilator.
After midnight, and with just minutes before the vaccine became unusable, the doctor, Hasan Gokal, gave the last dose to his wife, who has a pulmonary disease that leaves her short of breath.
For his actions, Gokal was fired from his government job and then charged with stealing 10 vaccine doses worth a total of $135 — a shun-worthy misdemeanor that sent his name and mug shot rocketing around the globe....
to Harris County, Texas.
... In an interview with The Associated Press, Gokal, 48, said when he was confronted with the possibility that a life saving vaccine could be lost, he made the decision to find eligible people late at night who could be given the expiring doses.
“I came as a practicing ER doctor into public health and as an ER doctor, I err on the side of life and that’s how I chose to make my decision," he said. “It was the right thing to do and it meant saving more lives."
Paul Doyle, Gokal’s attorney, criticized the decision by prosecutors to pursue charges, saying Gokal's supervisor had approved his plan for the leftover vaccine doses.
“There is no other case that I know of in the country where a doctor went above and beyond and was persecuted for it," Doyle said.
Doyle said hundreds of medical professionals and others had written letters, sent emails and made phone calls in support of Gokal's actions....
In January, prosecutors filed a misdemeanor theft charge against Gokal, who was fired after the health department conducted an internal investigation.
A judge later dismissed the theft charge, ruling there was no probable cause in the case. Harris County Court-At-Law Judge Franklin Bynum criticized prosecutors, saying their probable cause complaint was “riddled with sloppiness and errors.”
After the dismissal, prosecutors presented the case to the grand jury.
While he felt relief and happiness after learning about the grand jury’s decision, Gokal said the ordeal has taken a toll on his family, as his wife's health has been impacted and his children's grades suffered.
Gokal said he would still like to work in some capacity in public health but worries the theft accusation has put this in danger. Since he was fired by the county health department, he has worked part time in the emergency departments at two Houston hospitals.
“For the time being, I’m not going hungry and my family is doing OK," he said.
Gokal said he and his family, including his two daughters and son, have been grateful for the outpouring of support they have received.
“So many people reached out, helped in different ways, from GoFundMe (donations) to prayers and messages. I’ve been so overwhelmed by that," he said.
In March, the Texas Medical Board dismissed an investigation against Gokal, saying he “appeared to have administered doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to patients that were properly consented, in the eligible patient category, and they were given doses that would have otherwise been wasted.”
The board also found there were no protocols for Gokal to follow and he relied on state guidance to not waste the vaccine....
:!:
Take that, whiny anti-vaxxers.
