Argentina's health minister, Gines Gonzalez Garcia, resigned on Friday after reports that people who used their connections were allowed access to COVID-19 vaccines without being eligible, Reuters reported.

The minister said in a letter posted on Twitter that people were able to bypass proper vaccination procedures due to unintended confusion in his office while he was away.

Two sources in the president's office said earlier Friday that President Alberto Fernandez asked for Gines' resignation after media reports that at least 10 people had been vaccinated without due process, including a reporter - a veteran who claimed to have been injected after talking directly to the minister.

The growing scandal sheds light on broader concerns in the region about corruption and access to vaccines that are in short supply.