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HEALTH-VIRUS-SENEGAL-VACCINE
Senegal to begin virus vaccinations by end of March
DAKAR, Jan 15, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Senegal will start vaccinating vulnerable
members of its population against coronavirus by the end of March, the health
ministry said Friday, as the poor country battles a second wave of
infections.
In an interview with AFP, health ministry spokesman Abdoulaye Ndiaye said
priority will go to people whose work exposes them to the virus, as well as
people over 60 and those with co-existing diseases.
About 3.5 million people fall into those categories, he said, representing
about 20 percent of the West African state’s population.
As with other countries in Africa, Senegal’s official infection rate is
far below levels in the West, having recorded over 22,000 coronavirus cases
since March and over 500 deaths.
The nation of 16 million people is nonetheless battling a second wave of
Covid-19, which forced the government to impose new restrictions this month,
which include a night-time curfew in the capital Dakar.
On Wednesday, Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr submitted a vaccine
strategy to President Macky Sall, the details of which have not been made
public.
Ndiaye, the health ministry spokesman, said that under a provisional
timeline, vaccinations would begin before the end of March.
He did not specify when the second phase of the campaign will begin.
Senegalese media have reported that the government intends to complete its
vaccination campaign by the first quarter of 2022.
The campaign could also cost from about 30 million euros ($36 million) to
580 million euros ($703 million), Ndiaye said, depending on the price of the
vaccine chosen, as well as products such as syringes.
Senegal is participating in COVAX, a global collaboration scheme with
pharmaceutical firms to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
However it is also in talks to procure 200,000 doses of the Chinese-made
COVID-19 vaccine Sinopharm.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1845 hrs