COVID-19: Thousands Protest Over Argentina ‘VIP Vaccinations’ Scandal
Gines Gonzalez Garcia quit a week ago at the president’s request after it emerged that his friends had been able to skip the line for coronavirus inoculation.
Protesters carrying signs reading “Give me my vaccine” and “Stop wasting our money” gathered outside the government headquarters in Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires.
“They started by vaccinating friends of the government. It is not appropriate. They are stealing someone else’s life,” protester Irene Marcet told AFP.
Since Argentina began vaccinating its people, only healthcare workers had received the jab until Wednesday, when over-70s in Buenos Aires province were also invited to be immunized.
On Monday, the government released a list of 70 people who received the vaccine outside of the official campaign, which included the 38-year-old economy minister and former president Eduardo Duhalde, his wife and their children.
On the railings in front of the Casa Rosada, the seat of the government and the president’s office, protesters hung mock black body bags with the names of pro-government leaders vaccinated.