Carla Vizzotti

Carla Vizzotti
Minister of Health
In office 20 February 2021 – 10 December 2023
President	Alberto Fernández
Preceded by	Ginés González García
Succeeded by	Mario Russo
Secretary of Health Access
In office 19 December 2019 – 20 February 2021
Preceded by	New position
Succeeded by	Sandra Tirado
Personal details
Born	(1972-04-01) 1 April 1972 (age 52) Buenos Aires, Argentina
Alma mater	Universidad del Salvador
Occupation	Physician, public official

Carla Vizzotti (born 1 June 1972) is an Argentine physician specialized in vaccine-preventable diseases. She was the Secretary of Health Access and Vice Minister of Health in Argentina's Health Ministry, working under Minister Ginés González García, until February 2021. She served as Minister of Health from 2021 to 2023, following González García's resignation.

Early life and career

Vizzotti was born on 1 June 1972 in Buenos Aires, daughter of a gastroenterologist.^[1] She studied medicine at the Universidad del Salvador, graduating in 1997. She specialized in internal medicine at the University of Buenos Aires. She founded, and presides over, the Sociedad Argentina de Vacunología y Epidemiología ("Argentine Society of Vaccinology and Epidemiology"; SAVE), and has also worked at the Fundación Huésped, an NGO created to respond to HIV/AIDS.^[2]

From 2007 to 2016, during the successive administrations of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, she headed the Health Ministry's National Directorate for the Control of Vaccine-preventable Diseases (DINACEI). During her administration, she headed the National Immunization Plan and oversaw the extension of the existing immunization registry to include 19 free and mandatory vaccines.^[3]

Political career

Secretary of Health Access

Vizzotti presenting the government's daily COVID-19 report in June 2020.

On 19 December 2019, Vizzotti was appointed to the newly established Secretariat of Health Access (Spanish: Secretaría de Acceso a la Salud) by Health Minister Ginés González García, as part of the administration of recently elected president Alberto Fernández.^[2]

In 2020 Vizzotti became one of the most visible public officials in the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2][4] She has been tasked with giving the daily morning reports on COVID-19 statistics.^[5]

In December 2020, Vizzotti headed the Argentine delegation that travelled to Russia to oversee the transportation of 300 thousand Gam-COVID-Vac vaccines developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology to Argentina.^[6][7][8]

Minister of Health

Ginés González García resigned from his position as Minister of Health on 19 February 2021, following journalist Horacio Verbitsky's confession that he and others had been favored by González García to receive the COVID-19 vaccine under preferential treatment, in a scandal known as the Vacunatorio VIP ("VIP vaccination room").^[9][10] As Vice Minister of Health, Vizzotti was touted as the natural successor to González García.^[11][12]

Vizzotti was appointed to the position the following day, on 20 February 2021.^[13] Sandra Marcela Tirado was appointed Secretary of Health Access in Vizzotti's stead.^[14]

Personal life

On 26 February 2021, she tested positive for COVID-19 and went into voluntary isolation.^[15] On 28 September 2021, she underwent surgery to treat a case of appendicitis.^[16]

References

1. Sánchez, Gonzalo (28 May 2020). "Coronavirus en Argentina: Carla Vizzotti, la funcionaria que "evangeliza" cara a cara a los antivacunas y le hace marca personal a la pandemia". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2021.
2. "Quién es Carla Vizzotti, la pieza central del Gobierno frente a la emergencia del coronavirus". La Nación (in Spanish). 12 March 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
3. Spinetta, Franco (14 December 2016). "Carla Vizzotti: "Me dijeron que el despido era por 'motivos políticos'"". Página/12 (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2021.
4. ""Hoy es el cumpleaños de mi papá y el mejor regalo es no abrazarlo": el mensaje de la viceministra de Salud para concientizar sobre el aislamiento". Infobae (in Spanish). 24 March 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
5. Luna, Florencia (9 April 2020). "Carla Vizzotti y su recorrido en torno a las enfermedades virales". Filo.news (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2021.
6. "Partió misión argentina a Moscú para verificar el proceso de la vacuna Sputnik V". Ámbito (in Spanish). 12 December 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
7. Pizzi, Nicolás (12 December 2020). "Seis funcionarias partieron a Moscú para definir la llegada de la vacuna: los detalles del pago, las dudas sobre el transporte y el ofrecimiento a Cristina". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2021.
8. "Carla Vizzotti desde Rusia: "la aprobación de la vacuna Sputnik está encaminada"". Página/12 (in Spanish). 18 December 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
9. "Renuncia ministro de Salud de Argentina Ginés González tras señalamientos de posible "vacunatorio VIP"". CNN en Español (in Spanish). 19 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
10. Centenera, Mar (19 February 2021). "Un escándalo de vacunas a figuras influyentes le cuesta el cargo al ministro de Salud de Argentina". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2021.
11. Iñurrieta, Sebastián (19 February 2021). "Vizzotti asume este sábado como ministra de Salud". El Cronista (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2021.
12. Mayol, Federico]] (19 February 2021). "Carla Vizzotti, una ministra de confianza del Presidente que tenía una relación quebrada con Ginés González García". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2021.
13. "Una médica especialista en vacunas asume al frente del Ministerio de Salud". Télam (in Spanish). 20 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
14. "Una legisladora tucumana ocupará el cargo que dejó vacante Carla Vizzotti en el Ministerio de Salud". Infobae (in Spanish). 8 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
15. "La ministra Carla Vizzotti confirmó que tiene coronavirus y quedó aislada" [Minister Carla Vizzotti confirmed that she has coronavirus and was isolated]. Clarín (in Spanish). 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
16. "La ministra de Salud, Carla Vizzotti, ya salió de su operación en el Sanatorio Otamendi". La Nación (in Spanish). 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.

External links

• Carla Vizzotti on Twitter
• Profile at the website of the Ministry of Health (in Spanish)

Political offices
Preceded by Ginés González García	Minister of Health 2021–2023	Succeeded by Mario Russo