Argentine COVID-19 vaccination scandal

[16][17][18] Alejandro Cellillo, Second Vice President of the Buenos Aires Senate, stated that 400 vaccines disappeared and appeared at the Olavarría Oncology Hospital and said that this was due to "ideological and not technical health issues".

[28][29] On 19 February 2021, after versions of the alleged operation began to be released, journalist Horacio Verbitsky, one of those vaccinated, decided to comment on the event on a radio program, indicating that he was vaccinated at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health:[6][30] "Llamé a mi viejo amigo Ginés González García, a quien conozco de mucho antes que fuera ministro, y me dijo que tenía que ir al Hospital Posadas [...] cuando estaba por ir recibí un mensaje del secretario de Ginés, que me dijo que iba a venir un equipo de vacunadores del Posadas al Ministerio y que fuera a darme la vacuna.

[14][15][42][43] In social media, some fake news about alleged lists of vaccinated, including the names of celebrities such as television hosts Alejandro Fantino, Marcelo Tinelli, and Ángel De Brito, actor Pablo Echarri and former President Mauricio Macri, were spread.

[11][51] After the scandal, fifteen complaints were filed in the federal court against Ginés González García, Carla Vizzotti, Alberto Fernández, Hugo Moyano, Horacio Verbitsky, Jorge Taiana and Eduardo Valdés, among others.

[52][53][54] Federal prosecutor Guillermo Marijuan formally charged Ginés González García and Horacio Verbitsky for alleged "abuse of authority and non-compliance of a public official", stating that "they would constitute the crime provided for in article 248 of the Penal Code",[55][56] and qualifying the deed as "an act of unusual institutional gravity".

[58][59] On 22 February, police and judicial personnel carried out a raid at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health of the Nation, where documentation and images from the security cameras were seized to corroborate what was denounced and verify if there were more vaccinated.

[64] In the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, a request was presented for interpellation to the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, Santiago Cafiero, for the VIP vaccination scandal.

[72] President Alberto Fernández removed Senator Jorge Taiana and Deputy Eduardo Valdés, accused of having been vaccinated irregularly, from the delegation of an official trip to Mexico.

[73] On 27 February 2021, a protest was held, called by the opposition, and with the presence of figures such as the president of the PRO, Patricia Bullrich and former presidential candidate José Luis Espert.

[84][88][90][91] The president of Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo criticized Bullrich and indicated that the organization's lawyers would seek a way to "condemn from the law" the events.