Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez in 2008
(CNN Spanish) -
Marisabel Rodríguez, ex-wife of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez published this Tuesday on her social networks a video that showed when she was vaccinated with a dose of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine while inviting Venezuelans to get vaccinated.
Hours later he deleted the publication, but by then it was already the center of harsh controversies.
The audiovisual was released shortly after the questioned President Nicolás Maduro recognized a slight increase in the number of infections and deaths from covid-19 and ordered the implementation of new health controls.
The revelation of Rodríguez, who was married to Chávez between 1997 and 2004, unleashed criticism on social networks from people who denounced that there are still doctors without immunization and wondered if the former first lady belonged or not to the priority groups or if she was vaccinated for being Chávez's wife.
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Faced with these questions, he replied: "Unfortunately I am not a doctor (it would be an honor to help save lives) but as a cancer patient I am within the vulnerable population, so the medical recommendation was to apply it."
“I am an oncology patient who has a grade IV cancer and yes, they applied it to me in Venezuela, any other questions of interest?
PS: I consider it more valuable to disclose it to meet the number of inventions against the vaccine that people without a profession make ”.
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Rodríguez added that he made it public because, he assured, "you don't have to fear the vaccine, but you do have to fear viperine languages."
Hours later, he deleted all the messages on the subject.
Hugo Chávez and Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez in Lima, Peru, in 2001. (ALEJANDRA BRUN / AFP via Getty Images)
Rodriguez offered statements to different media in 2014 denouncing that he had difficulties treating the cancer he suffered and in 2016 he declared that he had already overcome it.
He later did not publicly address the issue.
CNN contacted the Ministry of Health for their comments, but so far they have not responded to the request.
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On February 17, at a press conference with national and international media, Maduro announced that the next day the vaccination of all health personnel in the country would begin and that those who work on the front line against covid-19 would have priority.
Maduro added that the process would continue with social personnel who are working on the streets, including those who register the number of infections, as well as security forces, government authorities and parliamentarians.
Later, on March 7, Maduro assured that teachers and the elderly would be incorporated into the vaccination plan.
Government spokespersons on COVID-19 did not mention cancer patients or other chronic patients as part of the priority sectors.
In communication with CNN, César Miranda, manager of Education and Prevention of the Anticancer Society of Venezuela, assured that they have not been informed about the inclusion of cancer patients as part of the priority population and that this sector was not mentioned by the first national leader when he referred to the issue.
Miranda said that since 2014 official figures of cancer cases have not been handled in the country and that according to the most recent census carried out by the society he represents there are about 68,088 cases.
The manager of the Anticancer Society considers that cancer patients should be included as a priority in the vaccination process and that there should be a clear and transparent schedule on the subject.
Meanwhile, chronic patients gathered in front of the headquarters of the Ombudsman's Office in the state of Táchira, bordering Colombia, to demand a vaccination schedule for covid-19.
Doctors, nurses, patients with HIV and hemophilia, among others, attended the protest and wanted to know when they would be immunized.
Mauro Zambrano, from the National Union of Health Workers, assures that not all doctors and workers in the sector have been vaccinated despite leading the vaccination plan.
However, he did not specify the figures.
The first batch of the first doses of Sputnik V vaccine arrived on February 13 and later 500,000 Sinopharm vaccines and 100,000 of the second dose of Sputnik V arrived later. It has not been publicly informed when the next batch would arrive in the country.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Venezuela accumulates more than 147,000 infections and at least 1,451 deaths from covid-19.