11:08 AM
Sunday 21 February 2021
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Buenos Aires – (AFP):
The new Argentine Health Minister Carla Vitzotti took office on Saturday after the resignation of her predecessor, who was caught helping friends bypass the anti-Corona vaccination program.
Vetsotti, a specialist in internal medicine, was sworn in before President Alberto Fernandez at the presidential residence in a short televised ceremony. It did not issue any statement after that and did not respond to journalists’ questions.
Vetsotti was responsible for securing the Russian “Sputnik-V” vaccine to Argentina in her capacity as Deputy Minister of Health.
Former Health Minister Gines González Garcís resigned late Friday after it emerged that the 75-year-old doctor had helped friends get vaccinated before their turn.
The scandal was revealed after the 71-year-old journalist Horacio Verbitzky announced to the radio that thanks to his long friendship with the Minister of Health, he was able to get a vaccine in his office before the rest of the population.
So far, only health workers in Argentina have been vaccinated. Vaccination for over seventy years of age began Wednesday in the province of Buenos Aires.
Local media reported that other people close to the government were vaccinated at the Ministry of Health, while local newspapers confirmed that the Public Prosecutor’s Office had opened an investigation.
Argentina, which has a population of 44 million, has received 1,2 million doses of “Sputnik V” and 580 thousand doses of “Coffeeshield” vaccine from the “Serum Institute” in India.
The country has recorded more than 2 million COVID-19 cases and 51,000 deaths.
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