"VIP vaccination scandal"

[antipodean]

Following the events last week in Santa Cruz province where a senator and mayor received vaccinations ahead of healthcare or other higher risk groups, Argentina has already discovered a far larger scandal in the making. Minister of Health Gines Garcia and some others inside the government have been personally arranging the administration of scarce vaccines to friends and other "VIPs" such as journalists, politicians, public servants and union leaders who are not healthcare workers or other priority groups entitled to the vaccines at the time of having them. This comes after Gines criticising the abuses that took place in Santa Cruz and Salta provinces emphasising the need for everyone to follow the law and protocols established to ensure equality. Alberto Fernandez has reportedly now asked for the resignation of the health minister.

Horacio Verbitsky admitió que llamó a Ginés González García y se vacunó en el Ministerio de Salud

En su programa de radio contó cómo hizo para recibir la vacuna rusa sin trasladarse hasta el lugar que le correspondía en la provincia de Buenos Aires

www.infobae.com

Vacunación VIP: Hugo Moyano, su esposa y su hijo menor recibieron la Sputnik V

Vacunación VIP: Hugo Moyano, su esposa y su hijo menor recibieron la Sputnik V

www.lanacion.com.ar

Powerful union leader Moyano, his wife and 20 year old son received vaccines.

Eduardo Valdés fue vacunado: "Nunca pensé que estaba haciendo algo ilegal"

Eduardo Valdés fue vacunado: "Nunca pensé que estaba haciendo algo ilegal"

www.lanacion.com.ar

Eduardo Valdea (Deputy head of Frente x Todos, Buenos Aires) received the vaccine. (Not sure where his statement about being one of only 16 countries who have vaccines comes from...according to Our World in Data/ WHO over 90 countries are already administering the vaccines globally...)

Carla Vizzotti se pone al hombro el plan de vacunación | Tras el escándalo en el Ministerio de Salud y la salida de Ginés González García

El jefe de Gabinete de la Nación, Santiago Cafiero, le comunicó al ministro de Salud que el mandatario tomó la decisión de apartarlo del cargo.

www.pagina12.com.ar

Pagina 12 is already reporting that Carla Vizotti will be appointed the new minister of health.

 

[gracielle]

Carla Vizzotti se pone al hombro el plan de vacunación | Tras el escándalo en el Ministerio de Salud y la salida de Ginés González García

El jefe de Gabinete de la Nación, Santiago Cafiero, le comunicó al ministro de Salud que el mandatario tomó la decisión de apartarlo del cargo.

www.pagina12.com.ar

Pagina 12 is already reporting that Carla Vizotti will be appointed the new minister of health.

It is inconceivable that Vizzotti was not aware of the existence of the Vacunatorio VIP functioning next door to the office of the Minister of Health, Gines Gonzalez Garcia.

 

[antipodean]

It is inconceivable that Vizzotti was not aware of the existence of the Vacunatorio VIP functioning next door to the office of the Minister of Health, Gines Gonzalez Garcia.

For me it is inconceivable Cafiero and others higher up did not know about it. Moyano and his family is a key indicator given the current focus of the government to strike labour accords as part of their increasingly urgent economic measures. Let's see if more VIPs are exposed trading favours since this is a developing story.

But I guess so far, no one has mentioned her by name and soon enough it will blow over... so she'll do.

 

[Alby]

Peru has been shaken all week by a similar scandal.

 

[gracielle]

But I guess so far, no one has mentioned her by name and soon enough it will blow over... so she'll do.

Advance per La Nacion....VIP vaccination: Carla Vizzotti will replace Ginés González García.

 

[antipodean]

Peru has been shaken all week by a similar scandal.

I am sure many dodgy (and some not so dodgy) countries will have scandals. However Peru is not our tax pesos and Gines has been promising us salvation for almost a year now yet has delivered us only 1.8m vaccines to date in addition to more than 2 million cases and 50.000 fatalities and countless economic and social harm along with numerous silly blunders in the process.
Finally we are seeing something that resembles "accountability" in this government, or at least exposing a major issue about it so that voters can decide what to do with it later in the year.

Advance per La Nacion....VIP vaccination: Carla Vizzotti will replace Ginés González García.

Sorry, I meant no one has mentioned her by name in this scandal - hence her appointment.

 

[gracielle]

The rumor is that Buenos Aires Province's Deputy Health Minister, Nicolás Krepla (La Campora),
will be appointed second in command at the national Ministry of Health.

 

[Alpinista]

I was not really surprised to hear a story like this. After all, what would you expect from this government which is equally incompetent and corrupt. What would you expect from this government that let the Campora play a big part in this campaign? However, i am really surprised that quick action was taken and he had to resign that quickly. I can only guess that it had more to do with all the wrong policies and failures during this Covid mess (shut down the economy, one of the longest lockdowns, high mortality, failure to get a lot of vaccines etc). So it probably was a welcome opportunity to get rid of him.

 

[antipodean]

I was not really surprised to hear a story like this. After all, what would you expect from this government which is equally incompetent and corrupt. What would you expect from this government that let the Campora play a big part in this campaign? However, i am really surprised that quick action was taken and he had to resign that quickly. I can only guess that it had more to do with all the wrong policies and failures during this Covid mess (shut down the economy, one of the longest lockdowns, high mortality, failure to get a lot of vaccines etc). So it probably was a welcome opportunity to get rid of him.

I can see a suspicion that there was ultimately a political motive behind this rather than professional standards or some other silliness.
Why would a journalist (who is a friend of CFK) expose both himself and Gines live on air? Yet where is the list of the 3,000 recipients and their names?
One hypothesis: At least now when they try to suspend PASO (and even general elections) they can blame the ex-minister for the failure in getting enough vaccines in time not to have to worry about the contradictory messaging of promising mass vaccination by August while saying it will be too unsafe in August to have elections.
Another hypothesis: Put more K’s into yet more ministries and replace Gines who was put there by Alberto in order to have yet more control leading up to elections which they risk loosing.

 

[Alpinista]

I can see a suspicion that there was ultimately a political motive behind this rather than professional standards or some other silliness.
Why would a journalist (who is a friend of CFK) expose both himself and Gines live on air? Yet where is the list of the 3,000 recipients and their names?
One hypothesis: At least now when they try to suspend PASO (and even general elections) they can blame the ex-minister for the failure in getting enough vaccines in time not to have to worry about the contradictory messaging of promising mass vaccination by August while saying it will be too unsafe in August to have elections.
Another hypothesis: Put more K’s into yet more ministries and replace Gines who was put there by Alberto in order to have yet more control leading up to elections which they risk loosing.

It is actually a big debate going on why this journalist was exposing the story. I believe it has more to do with old age and he basically lost it (as Majul said that people close to him say that he lost his political and emotional intelligence .... ). But who knows.

What to me is clear is that he was certainly not on his own. I believe that the government was establishing a “favor bank“ (according to Tom Wolfe), using the vaccine as a tool for political purposes. All kind of figures (incl relatives) reportedly have - with this scheme or another - benefited from this (union leaders, empresarios, journalists).