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Hello! I’m not sure how many people will see this, but
My name is Zahra. My father is Dr. Hasan Gokal, the man who was wrongfully fired because he distributed expiring COVID-19 vaccines so they wouldn’t go to waste.
“They weren’t yours to give away.”
“Too many Indian names.”
My name is Zahra. My father is Dr. Hasan Gokal, the man who was wrongfully fired because he distributed expiring COVID-19 vaccines so they wouldn’t go to waste.
“They weren’t yours to give away.”
“Too many Indian names.”
He is a Pakistani-American doctor who worked for Harris County Public Health last year. But the system failed him, a hard-working man who did the right thing only to get punished for it.
He should have been deemed a hero, but they fired him and pressed charges.
He should have been deemed a hero, but they fired him and pressed charges.
There were ten doses left at the end of the day. The vial was opened to give to the last incoming person, and couldn’t be put back in the fridge. At the time, there was no specific protocol for leftover vaccines. The only direction was “make sure they don’t go to waste.”
He found ten eligible people (high-risk) to inoculate and was able to give it to nine before time ran out. The tenth person canceled last minute, so he gave it to his wife, who was also high-risk (a sarcoidosis patient), minutes before expiration.
He filled out the required paperwork and inserted them into the system. The next day, he informed his coworkers of what he had done. A week later, he was fired.
To anyone else, he did the right thing. But apparently, according to Harris County Public Health and Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, he needed to be charged with a crime.
Judge Bynum has since dropped the case and the Medical Board dropped the license investigation, but Harris County is still pressing charges and will take the case up with the Grand Jury.
It’s been almost four months. The Grand Jury hasn’t met; everything is still in limbo.
It’s been almost four months. The Grand Jury hasn’t met; everything is still in limbo.
We need to get word back out. Maybe they’re hoping everyone forgets about the case or that we lose hope.
We will never forget. Whether their intent is to discriminate against the Desi community or some other malicious intent, we won’t let them get away with it.
We will never forget. Whether their intent is to discriminate against the Desi community or some other malicious intent, we won’t let them get away with it.
My dad didn’t do anything wrong. He did everything he could as a medical professional. He’s worked as an ER doctor for decades; he knows what to do when there’s little time left.
And they completely disregarded that.
And they completely disregarded that.
Please get the word out. Share, tag people, demand under social media posts by Harris County, Harris County Public Health, and Kim Ogg. Demand that they drop the case and apologize. A single retweet can do so much.
Here’s the New York Times article if you would like to read the full story.
“The Vaccine Had to Be Used. He Used It. He Was Fired.” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/houston-doctor-fired-covid-vaccine.html
“The Vaccine Had to Be Used. He Used It. He Was Fired.” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/us/houston-doctor-fired-covid-vaccine.html
Just a little addition. If you’d like to follow my dad, he’s at @gokalmd
There is a link in my bio (I will link here as well) that will take you to easy links. It includes unofficial petitions that friends and coworkers have made, as well as the contact info for Kim Ogg. https://linktr.ee/zgokal
Please answer our concerns @HarrisCountyDAO @kimoggforda @hcphtx @HarrisCoJudge @SylvesterTurner @GregAbbott_TX
