LIMA | A former president, two ministers, civil servants, academics, businessmen and the apostolic nuncio: in Peru, the scandal around the vaccination in all discretion of 487 personalities, even before the start of the immunization campaign , never ceases to make waves.
• Read also: All the developments of the pandemic
Dubbed the “Vacunagate” (vaccingate), the scandal erupted on February 12 when a daily revealed that former President Martin Vizcarra (2018-2020), deposed in November by Parliament, had been administered the vaccine from the Chinese Sinopharm laboratory in October, even before its official approval on December 31.
It then spread to the interim government of his successor, President Francisco Sagasti. Justice, Parliament and the government then launched investigations, because indignation is great in the country of 33 million inhabitants very hard hit by the pandemic (more than 44,000 deaths and 1.26 million cases).
According to the medical order, in early February, 297 practitioners and 25 nurses had died from COVID-19 since the appearance of the coronavirus in March.
It was President Sagasti himself who revealed on Monday that a total of 487 people had been improperly vaccinated even before the launch of the national campaign which began on February 9 by targeting health workers.
The full list was published the next day by the media: there are 122 civil servants, including 16 members of the government who have since been dismissed. Among them, the ministers of Foreign Affairs Elizabeth Astete and of Health, Pilar Mazzetti, who resigned, as well as the vice-minister of Health vaccinated with six members of his family.
Before her resignation, Mazzetti had told Parliament that as “captain of the ship” she would be the last health official to be vaccinated. She had been immune since January 22.
“Guests” and “consultants”
“Most of the vaccinations took place in September and October” under the chairmanship of Mr. Vizcarra, said President Sagasti, 76, who received a first dose on February 9 on the first day of the campaign on Thursday.
The 487 beneficiaries were vaccinated with some of the 3,200 additional doses delivered by Sinopharm as part of the vaccine clinical trial conducted on 12,000 Peruvian volunteers.
Eight officials from the Foreign Ministry improperly vaccinated were part of the team that negotiated the acquisition of the doses with China.
The doctor in charge of the tests, Doctor German Malaga, was suspended from his post by Cayetano Herrera University where the tests were being carried out. The rector of this private university and two vice-rectors, all three immune, have resigned.
Dr Malaga, questioned on Wednesday by a parliamentary committee, did not give convincing explanations on the criteria used to authorize the vaccination of 487 people, including a dozen businessmen and their relatives.
Several of them are listed as “guests” or “consultants” in the university register.
The nuncio Nicola Girasoli thus affirmed that he had been vaccinated because he was “consultant on ethical questions” for the establishment.
Even the owner of a Chinese restaurant who sold food to the delegation sent by Beijing to Lima to negotiate the sale of vaccines was registered as a “consultant”.
For the director of the Transparencia association, Adriana Urrutia, “the principles of probity, truth and transparency have been violated. These are very serious incidents, ”she told AFP.
The scandal comes as Peruvians are called to general elections on April 11, where Mr Vizcarra, whose wife and older brother have also been vaccinated, plans to be elected to the unicameral parliament.
“It is clear that Martin Vizacarra has every chance of losing votes,” but this scandal will “undoubtedly also affect the government” of interim president Sagasti, who is not running, political scientist Fernando Tuesta told AFP.