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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: COVID-SENEGAL VACCINE MANUFACTURING, 1st UPD (TV)
HEADLINE: Senegal Facility Plans to Start COVID Vaccine Production
TEASER: A new vaccine production initiative at the Institut Pasteur in Dakar hopes to decrease the continent’s dependence on developed countries for vaccines.
PUBLISHED AT: 2/9/22 at 530pm
BYLINE: Annika Hammerschlag
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Dakar, Senegal
VIDEOGRAPHER: Annika Hammerschlag
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, agency?
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB x__ TV x__ RADIO x__
TRT:
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: updates UK number and adds sourcing to graph 4))
((INTRO)) [[The COVID pandemic exposed stark vaccine inequities between high and low-income nations and underscored Africa's dependence on outside countries for jabs. However, a new initiative in Senegal hopes to reduce that inequity and make the continent more vaccine self-sufficient. Annika Hammerschlag reports from Dakar, Senegal.]]
((VIDEO-VOA: PEOPLE GETTING VACCINATED-VARIOUS, INSTITUT PASTEUR-VARIOUS, SALL-INTERVIEW WITH CUTAWAYS OF HIM IN HIS OFFICE ))
((NARRATION))
((People getting the jab in Senegal)
Senegal administered its first doses to the public in March 2021, months after COVID-19 vaccines had become available in the West.
((vaccine supplies/production))
Supplies have repeatedly run dry in Senegal and other African countries that have relied on the international community for the vaccines.
((people getting vaccines in Africa))
Today, just 11 percent of Africans are fully vaccinated, compared to 64 percent in the U.S. and 85 percent in the U.K., according to government statistics.
((Scientist at the Institut Pasteur))
But scientists aim to change that. The Pasteur Institute of Dakar has partnered with BioNTech to build a production facility for its mRNA vaccines.
((Amadou Sall, Director, Institute Pasteur of Dakar)) ((English, 23 secs))
Note: middle shot to be covered by cutaways of him in his office“
“So, the need to make sure that we have control over our supply is something that is critically important in terms of health security. Having a different level of protection in different parts of the world won’t help control and end this pandemic.”
(( VIDEO-VOA: SCIENTISTS WORKING IN LAB-VARIOUS, DIATTA-INTERVIEW ))
((NARRATOR))
Africa currently imports 99 percent of all its vaccines. The new facility is due to open later this year and produce 300 million COVID vaccines annually. South Africa has announced a similar partnership with Moderna.
The Institute hopes to manufacture vaccines not just for the next pandemic, but also for endemic diseases such as measles and polio.
((Antoine Marie Diatta, Vaccine Quality Control Manager)) ((French, 18 secs))
“The standards are indeed getting higher and higher. It requires a level of human resources and skills that are extremely high as well. It’s not always within reach or easily found in Africa because it’s new technology.”
((VIDEO-VOA: YELLOW FEVER UNIT-VARIOUS, BADIANE-INTERVIEW ))
But Dakar’s Institute Pasteur already produces yellow fever vaccines. Scientists there have been manufacturing them for decades.
((Dr. Ousseynou Badiane, Director of Senegal’s Expanded Immunization Program)) ((French, 17 secs))
“The Pasteur Institute has a lot of experience producing vaccines. The yellow fever vaccine was developed and produced there. With their vaccine development expertise, there is nothing to prevent them from producing another that’s developed elsewhere.”
((VIDEO-VOA: SCIENTIST WORKING IN LAB-VARIOUS ))
Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines has run rampant throughout Africa, Badiane added, so vaccines made in Africa by Africans could help increase trust and the number of people willing to get the jab.
((Annika Hammerschlag, for VOA news, Dakar, Senegal))
NewsML Media TopicsScience and Technology, Politics, Health
Topic TagsCOVID, Senegal, Vaccine, Public Health
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Dakar, Senegal
Embargo DateFebruary 9, 2022 19:39 EST
BylineAnnika Hammerschlag
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America, Voice of America - English
