Are economic evaluations an important tool in vaccine policy decisions?

Abstract

In the 1980s, drug prices began rising considerably worldwide, and in the 1990s, countries began incorporating health economics into the scientific review process. Rising prices in vaccines began around the year 2000 and national bodies began to use health economics to review vaccines in the next decade. Health economics is a discipline that evaluates alternative interventions, balancing costs and health outcomes. There are characteristics of infectious diseases that differ from other illnesses, most notably the herd effect. We reviewed the role of economics in conducting vaccine scientific reviews. We conclude that health economics can move some of the considerations in vaccine policy decision-making from the political to the scientific arena, but there are still many unresolved issues. Health economists will continue to address these issues in the coming years, but there will always be a need for a separate policy review.

Keywords::

• cost–effectiveness
• health economics
• immunizations
• vaccine policy
• vaccines

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institute of Health Economics.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This project is funded by the Institute of Health Economics. The author has no other 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 apart from those disclosed.

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