The highest-ranking officer in the Spanish military quit Saturday after it was revealed that he and colleagues had been vaccinated against coronavirus despite not being on the list for preferential access.
Miguel Ãngel Villarroya, chief of the defense staff, handed in his resignation a day after Defense Minister Margarita Robles ordered him to draw up a report into the incident, first reported by online news site El Confidencial Digital. Robles accepted his resignation, national news agency Efe reported.
According to El PaÃs, Villarroya defended the decision to get the vaccine, saying it was to preserve the “integrity, continuity and effectiveness of the Armed Forces,†but resigned because of the damage being done to the military’s reputation.
Nursing home residents and staff, as well as frontline health workers, are currently receiving jabs as part of the national vaccination plan. Those over the age of 80 will be next in line for the vaccine. Villarroya is 63.