Vaccination: the cornerstone of an efficient healthcare system

Abstract

Vaccination has made an important contribution to the decreased incidence of numerous infectious diseases and associated mortality. In 2013, it was estimated that 103 million cases of childhood diseases in the United States had been prevented by the use of vaccines since 1924. These health effects translate into positive economic results, as vaccination can provide significant savings by avoiding the direct and indirect costs associated with treating the disease and possible long-term disability. A recent US study estimated that every dollar spent on childhood vaccination could save US$3 from a payer perspective and US$10 from a societal perspective. The first vaccines set a high standard from a public health ‘return on investment’ perspective, because they are highly cost-saving. Today, however, where only a few healthcare interventions are considered to be cost-saving, the challenge that decision-makers typically face is to identify such healthcare interventions that are deemed cost-effective, that is, provide extra benefit at a reasonable extra cost. Some of the newer vaccines provide a solution to some of today's important health issues, such as cervical cancers with human papillomavirus vaccines, or debilitating diseases with herpes zoster vaccines. These recent, more expensive vaccines have been shown to be cost-effective in several economic analyses. Overall, vaccination can still be regarded as one of the most cost-effective healthcare interventions.

Vaccine confidence: the keys to restoring trust

“…1,2 One human diseasesmallpoxhas been completely eradicated by the widespread use of specific vaccines, and poliomyelitis is on track to be the next. 1,3 Every year vaccination prevents 2.7 million cases of measles, 2 million cases of neonatal tetanus, 1 million cases of pertussis, 600,000 cases of paralytic poliomyelitis and 300,000 cases of diphtheria. 3 In addition to directly preventing disease in vaccinees, vaccination indirectly reduces the likelihood of disease transmission.…”

“…1,3 Every year vaccination prevents 2.7 million cases of measles, 2 million cases of neonatal tetanus, 1 million cases of pertussis, 600,000 cases of paralytic poliomyelitis and 300,000 cases of diphtheria. 3 In addition to directly preventing disease in vaccinees, vaccination indirectly reduces the likelihood of disease transmission. Unvaccinated individuals have a reduced risk of contracting the infection once a critically high proportion of the population has been immunized, a phenomenon known as herd immunity.…”

Understanding the three As (Awareness, Access, and Acceptability) dimensions of vaccine hesitancy in Odisha, India

“…Immunization has been one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions. 1,2 In the last decade, there has been a significant improvement in the rate of immunization in Low Middle-Income countries. Still, 23.5 million children remain unimmunized, and 1.7 million children die from vaccine-preventable diseases every year globally.…”

Building Eminence through Evidence

“…That the current level of informed questioning by experts is not as healthy as it might be is clearly demonstrated by the rise of vaccine hesitancy - despite the dire consequences that are already emerging in terms of fatal outbreaks of measles, and reverses in the fight against other infectious diseases [22]. …”