Economic evaluations of influenza vaccination in healthy working-age adults - Employer and society perspective

Objective: To determine what benefits to the employer and to society are as sociated with influenza (flu) vaccination in healthy adults. Design and methods: We performed a literature review concerning cost-benefi t and cost-effectiveness evaluations of influenza vaccination in healthy, w orking-age adults. Up to the end of 1999, we found 6 published economic eva luations on the use of influenza Vaccine in healthy, working-age adults: 3 prospective studies, 1 retrospective evaluation and 2 model-based simulatio ns. Evaluations were performed from the perspective of an employer or socie ty. Costs were reported in the local currency used in the published evaluat ion, with conversions into US dollars (when not provided in the article), f or comparative purposes only, according to the exchange rates of June 8 199 8. Main outcome measures and results: Estimations of the cost-benefit of vacci nation, compared with a no vaccination strategy, varied widely from a net l oss of $US106.59 per infection averted in one study to savings of varying s izes in the 5 others (savings ranged from $US2.58 per dollar invested to $U S46.85 per vaccinee). Studies differed in the definition of illness and the measurement of costs associated with vaccination or illness. Conclusions: Decision makers have not yet extended existing vaccine recomme ndations to cover healthy, working-age adults, partly because of the dispar ity among economic studies in their methods of estimating costs and measuri ng effects. However, the published studies seem to suggest that influenza v accination in the healthy, working adult would be a cost-effective health i ntervention, at least from the perspective of an employer.