Texas doctor stole coronavirus vaccine to give to his family and friends, authorities say
An attorney for Hasan Gokal says the since-fired public-health doctor was making sure unused doses didn’t go to waste.
File photo.(Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer) Revised with additional details.
A Harris County doctor was fired and faces a criminal charge after authorities say he stole coronavirus vaccine to benefit his family and friends. But his lawyer said Friday that he didn’t give them doses.
Hasan Kassim Gokal, 48, faces one misdemeanor count of theft by a public servant.
Authorities say that on Dec. 29 Gokal stole a vial of the Moderna vaccine that had nine doses in it while working at a county vaccination site in Humble, about 15 miles northeast of Houston.
U.S. clears Moderna vaccine for COVID-19, adding 2nd shot to nation’s arsenal
Much-needed doses are set to arrive Monday after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of the vaccine.
By Wire Services
WASHINGTON The U.S. added a second COVID-19 vaccine to its arsenal Friday, boosting efforts to beat back an outbreak so dire that the nation is regularly recording more than 3,000 deaths a day.
Much-needed doses are set to arrive Monday after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an emergency rollout of the vaccine developed by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health.
The move marks the world’s first authorization for Moderna’s shots. The vaccine is very similar to one from Pfizer Inc. and Germany’s BioNTech that’s now being dispensed to millions of health care workers and nursing home residents as the biggest vaccination drive in U.S. history starts to ramp up.
Dallas County reports 2,248 new coronavirus cases, 10 deaths as hospitalizations reach record high
In Tarrant County, officials reported 2,016 new cases and 16 deaths, as well as a new high for hospitalized patients. Revised to include statewide data.
Dallas County on Friday reported 2,248 more coronavirus cases, as well as a record number of hospitalizations for the virus. Ten new COVID-19 deaths were also reported.
The latest victims were two Dallas men, in their 50s and 80s; two Grand Prairie women, in their 60s and 70s; two Mesquite women, in their 60s and 70s; a Duncanville man in his 90s; a Garland man in his 60s; an Irving woman in her 40s; and a Richardson woman in her 80s. All but the Irving woman had underlying high-risk health conditions, officials said.