Spain’s Chief of Staff General Miguel Ángel Villarroya, 63, resigned on Saturday (23) after being accused of receiving the coronavirus vaccine in front of priority groups, the military summit said in a statement .
The access criteria established by the Ministry of Health at that time favor health professionals and the elderly in retirement homes in Spain.
“In order to preserve the image of the armed forces, General Villarroya presented his resignation to the Minister of Defense on Saturday,” the staff said in a statement.
This departure represents the first high-level resignation in Spain since the start of the pandemic, which has already caused more than 55,000 deaths.
The act comes a day after the Minister of Defense delegated a report to General Villarroya himself on the situation of several members of the military leadership vaccinated against the coronavirus. At the start of the pandemic, Villarroya represented the military at press conferences detailing the actions of troops cleaning nursing homes and treatment rooms.
The Spaniards reacted with indignation to the news. Other military leaders have also been accused of being improperly vaccinated against the coronavirus.
“General Villarroya and other colleagues, my partner is 67 years old, has Alzheimer’s disease and is blind. We are waiting for the vaccine. We are in the first group. Are you more important? Twitter user @ Marcosendra1 said.
Air Force General Villarroya eventually resigned, but said he never intended to “take advantage of unjustifiable privileges.”