Spanish Chief of the Defence Staff (JEMAD), General Miguel Angel Villarroya
MADRID, Jan 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Spain’s top general resigned on Saturday after allegations he had received the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of priority groups, one of a number of public officials who have sparked public anger because of reports they have jumped the vaccination queue.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles had asked General Miguel Angel Villaroya, chief of defence staff, for explanations after media reports on Friday that he had received the vaccination.
In a statement on his resignation, the defence ministry indicated but did not explicitly state that Villaroya had had the vaccination. The general “never intended to take advantage of unjustifiable privileges which damaged the image of the Armed Forces and put in doubt the honour of the general,” it said.
It added that Villaroya “took decisions which he thought to be correct” but which “damaged the public image of the Armed Forces”.
In his resignation letter, Villaroya said he was stepping down to “preserve the image of the Armed Forces”.
He said he had always “strived to serve as an example to his subordinates and to do the right thing,” and that although he had “never tried to take advantage of unjustifiable privileges,” some of his decisions “are damaging the public image of the Armed Forces.”
At start of the pandemic, Villaroya represented the military at media daily briefings where he detailed how troops were cleaning care homes and caring for elderly residents.
The steady drip-feed of public officials admitting to having been vaccinated ahead of priority groups has sparked uproar on social media in Spain at a time when several regions are tightening restrictions in an effort to curb a spike in infections.
“General Villarroya and other colleagues, my companion is 67, has Alzheimer’s and is blind. We are waiting for the vaccine. A clerk and a former nurse and we are in the first group. Are you more important?” tweeted a user with the handle @Marcosendra1.
Several local mayors have also admitted to getting vaccinated before their turn, while the regional health chief of the exclave of Ceuta was heavily criticised both for getting vaccinated early and for saying he had done this under pressure from his staff.
Some called for the resignation of those who could not wait their turn.
Nationwide infection rates have soared since late December, with 42,885 new cases added to the tally on Friday bringing the total of cases to 2,499,560. Four hundred deaths were reported, for a total death toll of 55,441. — NNN-AGENCIES
