The Axle: For this week’s story idea, I want to focus on the Food and Drug Administration granting emergency use authorization to the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech this past Friday for children ages 5 to 11. I think it is important to do a story on this so the world is aware of the steps being taken to return to normalcy from this pandemic. With State College being the closest in proximity, I will be conducting all my interviews here in order to provide others with different opinions along with background about the new FDA approval.
The Riders: This story applies to anyone that has children, those involved in school staff/administration, daycares and honestly, the rest of the world due to the fact that the Pfizer vaccine is receiving more and more approval. One of the best people to tell this story is the parents that have children ages 5-11. While conducting these interviews, I would ask questions such as if they are planning to get their child vaccinated, are they going to wait until more information is released/more children try it, and their thoughts on the vaccination itself. I would also conduct interviews with staff and administration of the State College Area School District, specifically teachers at the elementary/middle school level. I would like to ask these teachers how they feel about this new approval, why or why not they think their students should be required to get this vaccination, and what they think is in the future for the rules and regulations regarding COVID for the school district. Furthermore, I would like to interview workers of a local daycare and ask if they will require the vaccination for children of this age range and how they have been handling COVID thus far. Lastly, I would like to interview a local pediatrician and find out their initial thoughts on this new approval and if children should be receiving this vaccine.
The Spokes: Through my package, I would most definitely include footage of children in the 5-11 age range playing outside, in school, at the daycare facility and just hanging out with their families. I also would like to include footage of the doctor’s offices and places in State College that offer the Pfizer vaccine. This will really emphasize on the fact how young these children are and the activities they have been pursuing while being unable to receive the vaccine before. I would include SOT footage of the parents, teachers, administration, daycare workers and pediatrician to provide a different set of opinions and thoughts for the viewers. By providing this, others can form their own opinions on what actions they should take for their children, whether it is their own or someone in charge of children. I would include natural sound of children playing since the story’s focus is about the health and safety of the children.
The Rim:
- Beginning: In the beginning, I would open up with different shots of the children playing at the school, daycare, and with their families. Furthermore, I would include footage of people receiving the vaccine as a VoiceOver plays with information about the Pfizer vaccine in relation to these children.
- Middle: The middle would include the bulk, if not all, of the SOT footage of the interviews with the parents, teachers, daycare workers, and pediatrician sharing their thoughts on the approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children 5-11 and what they plan on doing with this information. I would also like to include more information about the vaccine here.
- End: The ending will include information on the amount of people that have received the vaccine and how it has effected the pandemic in its entirety. I would also include information where the vaccine can be received specifically to this area for the children these ages. I would include more footage of happy children playing with one another to put an even bigger emphasis on the fact that the happiness and health of the children should always come first.