59°
A former Harris County Public Health employee is suing the department and Harris County for discrimination after being accused of stealing COVID-19 vaccinations.
Allegations against Dr. Hasan Gokal first arose in January when it was alleged that Gokal was giving out vaccines that were due to expire, KHOU reported.
“Right from the beginning, I was never asked what happened. I was charged. These are unfair things for anyone to go through,” Gokal said in an interview with Click2Houston.
Gokal recalled the day and incident, explaining that on the particular day in question, it had been the county's first day of giving out the Moderna vaccine, and at the end of the day, one open vial contained 10 remaining doses set to expire, ABC13 reported. Gokal said he did offer the vaccinations to frontline workers first, who declined, and Gokal gave out 10 doses of the vaccine that were near expiration after checking with supervisors that he was allowed to do so, according to KHOU.
Prior to Gokal's termination, he was allegedly told that he was not distributing the vaccine "equitably" and that he was giving it to too many individuals with "Indian sounding names," Click2Houston reported.
“It’s very clear that if he had vaccinated people named Anderson, Smith and Jones he would have been called a hero and not have been fired, charged, vilified and brought before a grand jury that thankfully refused to indict him,” Joe Ahmad, the doctor’s civil lawyer, said in a release, KHOU reported.
The alleged false allegations concerning Gokal's lead to criminal charges brought forth against him in addition to an investigation by the Texas Medical Board, ABC 13 reported. A grand jury summoned by the the District Attorney's Office resulted in Gokal not being indicted, and the Texas Medical Board's investigation cleared him of all wrongdoing in regards to the allegations.
"Well, I am hoping that we can finally set right some of the wrongs that happened along the way,” Gokal said, as reported by Click2Houston about why he filed the suit against Harris County.
In the 14-page lawsuit against Harris County, it states that Gokal attempted to save as many lives as possible regardless of race, and alleges that he as a doctor was discriminated against for his South Asian and Pakistani national origin, KHOU reported.
Gokal seeks monetary relief in excess of $1 million.
Harris County Public Health District has not responded for comments on the lawsuit.