Economic evaluations of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine: systematic review of the literature

Abstract

With the arrival of new, more expensive vaccines, economic evaluation has become an important tool for assessing the feasibility of introducing a new vaccine into a country’s routine immunization schedule. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine has been available since the early 1990s, but uptake of the vaccine was slow in low-income countries until the GAVI Alliance started offering financial support for it. However, at some point, GAVI Alliance-supported countries will have to identify other sources of financing for Hib vaccine, meaning cost–effectiveness evidence will be important to support resource allocation decisions. Several middle-income countries have not yet introduced the vaccine. Thus, the aim of this literature review was to identify and evaluate the published evidence on the cost–effectiveness of the Hib vaccine, with particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. It is concluded that there are only few studies available from resource-poor countries and some of these are of low quality.

Keywords::

• cost
• cost–benefit
• cost–effectiveness
• economic evaluation
• Haemophilus influenzae type b
• vaccine

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.