From Spain Defense Chief of Staff Gen. Miguel Angel Villaroya resigned after reports that he received the coronavirus vaccine before other priority groups, according to a Reuters report.
Villaroya resigned on Saturday after receiving public reaction for allegedly skipping the line to be vaccinated. Like many other countries, including the United States, Spain prioritized health professionals and the elderly, two of the groups most exposed and vulnerable to the virus.
Defense Minister Margarita Robles was reported to have spoken to Villaroya after reports of her vaccination surfaced on Friday to ask if they were true, according to the news agency.
Robles did not explicitly say whether Villaroya received the vaccine in the statement about his resignation, but said that Villaroya “never intended to take advantage of unjustifiable privileges that damaged the image of the Armed Forces and questioned the general’s honor.” according to Reuters.
Villaroya participated in daily briefings with the media to represent the military and update the public on how the troops were helping to care for their citizens last year, when the pandemic began.
The news agency reported that the general’s actions damaged the image of the Armed Forces in Spain.
Robles’ statement said that Villaroya “made decisions that he considered correct”, but those decisions “damaged the public image of the armed forces”.
The news comes at the moment when several public figures agitate the country for skipping the priority line in Spain.
The country was also one of the hardest hit in Europe, after France, and has had a death toll of more than 55,000 since the pandemic began, with cases still rising. The country has almost 2.5 million cases of coronavirus.