Peru’s COVID-19 Corruption

Ex-President Martin Vizcarra (Wikimedia Commons)

The Peruvian government recently revealed that many Peruvian government officials, including former president Martín Vizcarra, received the COVID-19 vaccine beginning in September, before Peru had officially approved any vaccines. While Vizcarra and his wife claimed their vaccinations were for a clinical trial, doctors have disputed their claims, saying that Vizcarra asked for two doses of the vaccine. More than 400 powerful public officials also gained access to the vaccine. 

Peru has had one of the largest outbreaks in South America, partially due to unsanitary conditions in low-income areas, and densely-packed urban areas. Sinopharm sent 12,000 doses of the vaccine to Peru last fall for clinical trials, along with an extra batch of doses intended for volunteers and researchers. Hundreds of politically powerful officials received the vaccine toward the end of 2020, even though the vaccine had not been approved for use outside the trial. Representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Peru said they were unaware of who received the vaccines. 

Vizcarra originally denied claims of corruption; he said that he was one of 12,000 volunteers in the Sinopharm trial and that he had received a placebo drug due to a negative antibody test. However, when Dr. Germán Málaga testified in the Peruvian Parliament, he swore that Vizcarra specifically asked him for two vaccines, knowing he would receive the real drug rather than the placebo. Vizcarra was removed from the presidency in November 2020 after several reports surfaced of bribery and corruption within Vizcarra’s administration, despite his popularity among the Peruvian people.

Various Peruvian officials replicated Vizcarra’s actions, including Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti, who received the vaccine despite her claim that she would be the last health care worker in Peru to take a dose. Peruvian Foreign Minister Elizabeth Astete also accepted the vaccine while overseeing the Sinopharm contract proposals. The federal government launched a criminal investigation into the mishandling of the Sinopharm vaccines shortly after Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti publicly revealed the scandal. This misuse of political power comes in the middle of the economic, political, and medical turmoil the country has faced in the past year.