Following the recent scandal in Peru over a secret vaccination programme for government officials, Argentina has now become embroiled in its own controversy, after it emerged that Health Minister Ginés González García had conducted a covert COVID-19 vaccination programme for senior government officials and their friends and family, as well as ‘VIPs’ with contacts in the government. President Alberto Fernández seemingly absolved himself of any responsibility by saying that, while García was a “great minister”, his actions were “unforgivable” and that the current administration does not “tolerate things like this”.
García, who was appointed by Fernández when the President was sworn into office in December 2019, resigned on Friday and has now been replaced by Deputy Health Minister Carla Vizzotti. Also implicated in the sandal is Health Ministry Cabinet Chief Lisandro Bonelli, who was in charge of the vaccination schedule and is coincidentally the nephew of García.
Vizzotti was sworn in on Saturday and in her inauguration ceremony said: “We will strengthen the tools and actions that guarantee fairness in access to vaccines, monitoring compliance with the planned process.” She added, “It is the President's decision that we carry out the largest vaccination plan in our history with the greatest speed and offer each Argentine the peace of mind that all vaccines are administered according to precise sanitary criteria.”
Among those who received the shots are lawmaker Eduardo Valdéz, Senator Jorge Taiana, and Foreign Minister Felipe Solá. However, the names of Valdéz, Taiana, and Solá have been cleared, as they were put on the vaccination list by the President himself due to their trips abroad as part of official delegations.
However, the vaccine was also provided to several VIPs with close ties to the government. The scandal first came to light after journalist Horacio Verbitsky admitted into a radio show that he had been vaccinated due to his friendship with García. Hugo Moyano, the leader of the country’s largest labour union, was also vaccinated alongside his wife and son.
There have also been questions raised about whether García’s replacement, Vizzotti, is best placed to take the reins of the Health Ministry, with some questioning how she wasn’t aware of this secret vaccination programme in her capacity as Deputy Health Minister. Moreover, she is also related to García.
Although García accepted President Fernández’s order to resign, he has refused to accept responsibility, saying that it was a “misunderstanding” and that the “vaccinated people belong to the groups included within the target population of the current population”.
Meanwhile, Fernández, in an interview with local news outlet Página12, said, “Ginés was a great minister, and on top of that, I like him. But what he did was unforgivable,” adding, “Politics is ethical, we have to end these types of practices, with the Argentine culture of liveliness, craftiness [and] the management of influences.”
At this stage, it is not clear how many people were immunised and the new health minister, Vizzotti, has downplayed the severity of the controversy, saying that “in no way was there a VIP immunisation [programme]”. However, the public prosecutor’s office has initiated an investigation into the matter. Moreover, local media has reported that a number of politicians and elites who were not in the priority groups had received the vaccine.
Argentina has thus far received 1.2 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and 580,000 doses of the Covidshield vaccine from the Serum Institute of India. Roughly 250,000 people have already received two doses of the vaccine. The country has recorded over two million coronavirus cases and more than 51,000 deaths.
These events in Argentina closely mirror what occurred in Peru, where it was revealed last week that at least 487 government officials, including former president Martín Vizcarra, had abused their positions of power to secure doses of the Chinese-made Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine well before it was made available to the public. The scandal has already seen the resignation of Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti, Deputy Health Minister Luis Suárez Ognio, and Foreign Minister Elizabeth Astete. It has also severely diminished the popularity and legacy of former leader Vizcarra, whose unceremonious impeachment in November drew widespread protests. A formal investigation has been launched into the matter, much like in Argentina.
Argentinian Health Minister García Ran Secret COVID-19 Vaccine Programme for ‘VIPs’
A journalist revealed that Argentina’s Health Minister, Ginés González García, who has since resigned, ran a covert COVID-19 vaccination programme for government officials and elites in the country.
February 23, 2021
IMAGE SOURCE: TÉLAMThe now-former Argentinian Health Minister Ginés González García