Cost of immunization with a locally produced, oral cholera vaccine in VietNam

Policy decisions regarding whether to incorporate new vaccines into routine public health practice in developing countries will depend in part on the costs of vaccine purchase and of vaccine delivery. In March, 1997, a large- scale effectiveness trial of a locally produced, orally administered bivale nt vaccine against Vibrio cholerae 01 and 0139 began in Viet Nam. Empirical data obtained from the trial was used to determine the costs of the immuni zation campaign from the government perspective. The study population, incl uding the children less than one year of age and pregnant women who were in eligible for immunization, was 353926. A total of 289041 persons received t wo doses of vaccine, and 13340 persons received one dose of vaccine. Two-do se vaccine coverage was 83.4%. The total cost of vaccine delivery during th e immunization campaign was $66527. The cost of each dose of vaccine was $0 .31. Therefore. the total cost of the immunization campaign was $0.44 per d ose administered, and $0.91 per fully immunized person. Attempts to reduce the cost per dose of vaccine (e.g. the use of a monovalent vaccine against serogroup 01) are likely to have a large impact on the cost of future simil ar immunization campaigns. Published by Elevier Science Ltd.