The vice president of the Parliament and former Minister of Health, Alba Vergès, has appeared voluntarily before the judge investigating her for alleged prevarication for having delayed the vaccination of agents of the National Police and the Civil Guard. The former head of Health has defended her actions during the Covid vaccination plan and has alleged that the decision to suspend the doses of the National Police and the Civil Guard and prioritize the age group from 60 to 65 was made following “health criteria.” “. “What the Police and the Civil Guard do is question and offend these professional and health criteria,” she stated in a statement to the media. After listening to her arguments, the magistrate must decide if she sees signs of a crime and if she sends a reasoned statement to the TSJC so that it can formally charge Vergès. The former councilor testified for an hour before the head of the 17th investigative court in Barcelona and responded to the judge, the prosecutor and her lawyers.
The device to immunize CNP and Civil Guard agents was scheduled for March 25, 26 and 29, 2021. The day before, March 24, Salut changed the criteria after the Interterritorial Health Council gave the green light to resume vaccination with Astrazeneca in the group aged 55 to 65 years after a twelve-day break due to the appearance of cases of blood clots. In his appearance before the judge, Vergès alluded to this decision of the Council to justify the change in criteria. In addition, he recalled that there were supply problems and the vaccination of those groups with the highest hospitalization and mortality rates was prioritized.
The agents of the National Police and the Civil Guard, supported by police unions, felt discriminated against and decided to bring those responsible for the department to justice. Until November, the former councilor’s accusation had always been dismissed, but the presentation of some allegedly incriminating WhatsApp messages in the case led her to testify before the judge. “Once again the councilor asks me to stop (the vaccination) of the Civil Guard and National Police. We will not be able to argue it. We would have to stop it.” This was the message sent by a member of Vergès’ cabinet to Josep Maria Argimon, secretary of public health, and Carmen Cabezas, then deputy director general of Promoció de la Salut. Cabezas responded: “You are in charge.”
Vergès has assured that this message is out of context and that it can be interpreted as saying that it could not be argued to continue vaccinating the National Police and the Civil Guard when there was already authorization to immunize groups aged 60 to 65, which They were the most affected by the virus. However, the former councilor has not taken responsibility for giving the order but rather has said that the instruction came from the Council.
In Catalonia, agents of the National Police and the Civil Guard received the first doses of the coronavirus vaccines a month and a half later than the members of the Mossos d’Esquadra, firefighters, teachers and other groups considered essential because The Generalitat did not manage its data and had to request it and prepare a census. That delayed the process, as explained by the former minister.
In the order in which he asked Vergès to testify voluntarily – since she is certified before the TSJC -, the judge maintains that the Generalitat made an “arbitrary, illegal, unfair and discriminatory” decision against the officials of the National Police and the Civil Guard and remember that the TSJC forced the Generalitat to immediately vaccinate the agents in April 2021.
