Project description:BackgroundPlanning and monitoring vaccine introduction and effectiveness relies on strong vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) surveillance. In low and middle-income countries (LMICs) especially, cost is a commonly reported barrier to VPD surveillance system maintenance and performance; however, it is rarely calculated or assessed. This review describes and compares studies on the availability of cost information for VPD surveillance systems in LMICs to facilitate the design of future cost studies of VPD surveillance.MethodsPubMed, Web of Science, and EconLit were used to identify peer-reviewed articles and Google was searched for relevant grey literature. Studies selected described characteristics and results of VPD surveillance systems cost studies performed in LMICs. Studies were categorized according to the type of VPD surveillance system, study aim, the annual cost of the system, and per capita costs.ResultsEleven studies were identified that assessed the cost of VPD surveillance systems. The studies assessed systems from six low-income countries, two low-middle-income countries, and three middle-income countries. The majority of the studies (n = 7) were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa and fifteen distinct VPD surveillance systems were assessed across the studies. Most studies aimed to estimate incremental costs of additional surveillance components and presented VPD surveillance system costs as mean annual costs per resource category, health structure level, and by VPD surveillance activity. Staff time/personnel cost represents the largest cost driver, ranging from 21% to 61% of total VPD surveillance system costs across nine studies identifying a cost driver.ConclusionsThis review provides a starting point to guide LMICs to invest and advocate for more robust VPD surveillance systems. Critical gaps were identified including limited information on the cost of laboratory surveillance, challenges with costing shared resources, and missing data on capital costs. Appropriate guidance is needed to guide LMICs conducting studies on VPD surveillance system costs.
Project description:Fifteen years following the approval of the first human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, cervical cancer continues to be a significant source of morbidity and mortality among women in low-resource settings. It is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women globally and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa. Vaccine delivery and programmatic costs may hinder the distribution of HPV vaccines in low-resource settings, and ultimately influence access to HPV vaccines. While reviews have been conducted on the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccines, little is known about the cost and effectiveness of vaccination strategies. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize evidence on the cost and cost-effectiveness of vaccination strategies utilized to increase access to HPV vaccines. Search queries were created for CINAHL Plus, Embase, and PubMed. Our search strategy focused on articles that contained information on HPV vaccine uptake/reach, HPV vaccination costs, or the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination programs. We retrieved 773 articles from the databases, assessed 251 full-texts, and included 15 articles in our final synthesis. Countries without national HPV vaccination programs aimed to identify and adopt sustainable strategies to make HPV vaccines available to adolescents through demonstration programs. In contrast, countries with national vaccination programs focused on identifying cost-effective interventions to increase vaccination rates to meet nationally recommended standards. There is a dire need for HPV vaccination programs and intervention studies tailored to settings in low- and middle-income countries to increase access to HPV vaccines. Future studies should also evaluate the cost-effectiveness of implemented strategies.
Project description:BackgroundCompeting priorities make using a transparent and evidence-based approach important when deciding to recommend new vaccines. We conducted a literature review to document the processes and frameworks for national decision-making on new vaccine introductions and explored which key features have evolved since 2010.MethodsWe searched literature published on policymaking related to vaccine introduction from March 2010 to August 2020 in six databases. We screened articles for eligibility with the following exclusion criteria: non-human or hypothetical vaccines, the sole focus on economic evaluation or decision to adopt rather than policy decision-making. We employed nine broad categories of criteria from the 2012 review for categorization and abstracted data on the country, income level, vaccine, and other relevant criteria.ResultsOf the 3808 unique references screened, 116 met eligibility criteria and were classified as: a) framework of vaccine adoption decision-making (27), b) studies that analyse empirical data on or examples of vaccine adoption decision-making (45), c) theoretical and empirical articles that provide insights into the vaccine policymaking process (44 + 17 already included in the previous categories). Commonly reported criteria for decision-making were the burden of disease; vaccine efficacy/effectiveness, safety; impact on health and non-health outcomes; economic evaluation and cost-effectiveness of alternative interventions. Programmatic and acceptability aspects were not as often considered. Most (50; 82%) of the 61 articles describing the process of vaccine introduction policymaking highlighted the role of country, regional, or global evidence-informed recommendations and a robust national governance as enabling factors for vaccine adoption.ConclusionsThe literature on vaccine adoption decision-making has expanded since 2010. We found that policymakers and expert advisory committee members (e.g., National Immunization Technical Advisory Group [NITAG]) increasingly value the interventions based on economic evaluations. The results of this review could guide discussions on evidence-informed immunization decision-making among country, sub-regional, and regional stakeholders.
Project description:Objectives: Pneumococcal disease (PD), caused by S. pneumoniae, is a serious global health issue, primarily for adults over 65, due to its high mortality and morbidity rates. Recently, broader-serotype vaccines have been introduced to cope with tremendous hospital costs and decreasing quality of life. Our study aims to systematically review the cost-effectiveness of current PCVs (pneumococcal conjugate vaccines) and PPVs (pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine) from 2018 to April 2024. Methods: Articles were identified through PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane. Key outcomes include an improved incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALY), with the article's quality assessed via the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards 2022 (CHEERS 2022). In total, 23 studies were included, with 22 studies of high quality and 1 of moderate quality. Results: These articles showed that PCV20 was the most cost-effective option compared with other vaccines, including PPV23, PCV13, PCV15, and PCV15/PPV23, for both young and older adults, regardless of risk factors. PCV20, when used alone, saved greater costs than PCV20, followed by PPV23. Conclusions: For countries applying lower-valency vaccines, switching to PCV20 as a single regimen would be the most beneficial for averting pneumococcal cases and reducing costs in adults aged 18-64 and over 65.
Project description:ObjectivesChina suffers from high burdens of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer, whereas the uptake of HPV vaccine remains low. The first Chinese domestic HPV vaccine was released in 2019. However, collective evidence on cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination in China has yet to be established. We summarised evidence on the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccine in China.DesignSystematic review and narrative synthesis DATA SOURCES: PubMed, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang Data were searched through 2 January 2021 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Cost-effectiveness studies using a modelling approach focusing on HPV vaccination interventions in the setting of China were included for review.Data extraction and synthesisWe extracted information from the selected studies focusing on cost-effectiveness results of various vaccination programmes, key contextual and methodological factors influencing cost-effectiveness estimates and an assessment of study quality.ResultsA total of 14 studies were included for review. Considerable heterogeneity was found in terms of the methodologies used, HPV vaccination strategies evaluated and study quality. The reviewed studies generally supported the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccine in China, although some reached alternative conclusions, particularly when assessed incremental to cervical cancer screening. Cost of vaccination was consistently identified as a key determinant for the cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination programmes.ConclusionsImplementing HPV vaccination programmes should be complemented with expanded cervical cancer screening, while the release of lower-priced domestic vaccine offers more promising potential for initiating public HPV vaccination programmes. Findings of this study contributes important evidence for policies for cervical cancer prevention in China and methodological implications for future modelling efforts.
Project description:BackgroundTyphoid fever causes substantial global mortality, with almost half occurring in India. New typhoid vaccines are highly effective and recommended by the World Health Organization for high-burden settings. There is a need to determine whether and which typhoid vaccine strategies should be implemented in India.MethodsWe assessed typhoid vaccination using a dynamic compartmental model, parameterized by and calibrated to disease and costing data from a recent multisite surveillance study in India. We modeled routine and 1-time campaign strategies that target different ages and settings. The primary outcome was cost-effectiveness, measured by incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) benchmarked against India's gross national income per capita (US$2130).ResultsBoth routine and campaign vaccination strategies were cost-saving compared to the status quo, due to averted costs of illness. The preferred strategy was a nationwide community-based catchup campaign targeting children aged 1-15 years alongside routine vaccination, with an ICER of $929 per disability-adjusted life-year averted. Over the first 10 years of implementation, vaccination could avert 21-39 million cases and save $1.6-$2.2 billion. These findings were broadly consistent across willingness-to-pay thresholds, epidemiologic settings, and model input distributions.ConclusionsDespite high initial costs, routine and campaign typhoid vaccination in India could substantially reduce mortality and was highly cost-effective.
Project description:Despite a World Health Organization recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding of all full-term infants to 6 months of age, it is not clear what the health implications may be. Breast milk alone may not meet the nutrition needs for all growing infants, leaving them at risk for deficiencies. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between moderate (4 months) versus late (6 months) introduction of complementary foods to the full-term breastfed infant on iron status and growth.An electronic search of peer-reviewed and gray-literature was conducted for randomized control trials (RCTs) and observational studies related to the timing of introduction of complementary foods. Iron status and growth data from the relevant RCTs were analyzed using RevMan 5.2.11.Three RCTs and one observational study met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed significantly higher hemoglobin levels in infants fed solids at 4 months versus those fed solids at 6 months in developing countries [mean difference [MD]: 5.0 g/L; 95% CI: 1.5, 8.5 g/L; P = 0.005]. Meta-analysis also showed higher serum ferritin levels in the 4-month group in both developed and developing countries [MD: 26.0 ?g/L; 95% CI: -0.1, 52.1 ?g/L, P = 0.050], [MD: 18.9 ?g/L; 95% CI: 0.7, 37.1 ?g/L, P = 0.040]. Short follow-up periods and small sample sizes of the included studies were the major limitations.RCT evidence suggests the rate of iron deficiency anemia in breastfed infants could be positively altered by introduction of solids at 4 months.
Project description:Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), a local government in Mumbai, India, implemented the first public sector TCV campaign in 2018. This study estimated the delivery costs of this TCV campaign using a Microsoft Excel-based tool based on a micro-costing approach from the government (NMMC) perspective. The campaign's financial (direct expenditures) and economic costs (financial costs plus the monetized value of additional donated or existing items) incremental to the existing immunization program were collected. The data collection methods involved consultations with NMMC staff, reviews of financial and programmatic records of NMMC and the World Health Organization (WHO), and interviews with the health staff of sampled urban health posts (UHPs). Three UHPs were purposively sampled, representing the three dominant residence types in the catchment area: high-rise, slum, and mixed (high-rise and slum) areas. The high-rise area UHP had lower vaccination coverage (47%) compared with the mixed area (71%) and slum area UHPs (76%). The financial cost of vaccine and vaccination supplies (syringes, safety boxes) was $1.87 per dose, and the economic cost was $2.96 per dose in 2018 US dollars. Excluding the vaccine and vaccination supplies cost, the financial delivery cost across the 3 UHPs ranged from $0.37 to $0.53 per dose, and the economic delivery cost ranged from $1.37 to $3.98 per dose, with the highest delivery costs per dose in the high-rise areas. Across all 11 UHPs included in the campaign, the weighted average financial delivery cost was $0.38 per dose, and the economic delivery cost was $1.49 per dose. WHO has recommended the programmatic use of TCV in typhoid-endemic countries, and Gavi has included TCV in its vaccine portfolio. This first costing study of large-scale TCV introduction within a public sector immunization program provides empirical evidence for policymakers, stakeholders, and future vaccine campaign planning.
Project description:INTRODUCTION:The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs are established to be cost-effective before implementation. WHO recommends HPV vaccination for girls aged 9-13 years to tackle the high burden of cervical cancer. This review examined the existing evidence on the cost-effectiveness of the 9-valent HPV vaccine within a global context. METHODS:The literature search covering a period of January 2000 to 31 July 2019 was conducted in PubMed and Scopus bibliographic databases. A combined checklist (i.e., WHO, Drummond and CHEERS) was used to examine the quality of eligible studies. A total of 12 studies were eligible for this review and most of them were conducted in developed countries. RESULTS:Despite some heterogeneity in approaches to measure cost-effectiveness, ten studies concluded that 9vHPV vaccination was cost-effective and two did not. The addition of adolescent boys into immunisation programs was cost effective when vaccine price and coverage was comparatively low. When vaccination coverage for females was more than 75%, gender neutral HPV vaccination was less cost-effective than vaccination targeting only girls aged 9-18 years. Multi cohort immunization approach was found cost-effective in the age range of 9-14 years. However, the upper age limit at which vaccination was found not cost-effective requires further evaluation. This review identified duration of vaccine protection, time horizon, vaccine price, coverage, healthcare costs, efficacy and discounting rates as the most dominating parameters in determining cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS:These findings have implications in extending HPV immunization programs whether switching to the 9-valent vaccine or the inclusion of adolescent boys' vaccination or extending the age of vaccination. Further, this review also supports extending vaccination programs to low-resource settings where vaccine prices are competitive, donor funding is available, burden of cervical cancer is high and screening options are limited.
Project description:IntroductionRubella vaccines have been used to prevent rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in several World Health Organization (WHO) regions. Mathematical modelling studies have simulated introduction of rubella-containing vaccines (RCVs), and their results have been used to inform rubella introduction strategies in several countries. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the evidence from mathematical models regarding the impact of introducing RCVs.MethodsWe registered the review in the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) with registration number CRD42020192638. Systematic review methods for classical epidemiological studies and reporting guidelines were followed as far as possible. A comprehensive search strategy was used to identify published and unpublished studies with no language restrictions. We included deterministic and stochastic models that simulated RCV introduction into the public sector vaccination schedule, with a time horizon of at least five years. Models focused only on estimating epidemiological parameters were excluded. Outcomes of interest were time to rubella and CRS elimination, trends in incidence of rubella and CRS, number of vaccinated individuals per CRS case averted, and cost-effectiveness of vaccine introduction strategies. The methodological quality of included studies was assessed using a modified risk of bias tool, and a qualitative narrative was provided, given that data synthesis was not feasible.ResultsSeven studies were included from a total of 1393 records retrieved. The methodological quality was scored high for six studies and very high for one study. Quantitative data synthesis was not possible, because only one study reported point estimates and uncertainty intervals for the outcomes. All seven included studies presented trends in rubella incidence, six studies reported trends in CRS incidence, two studies reported the number vaccinated individuals per CRS case averted, and two studies reported an economic evaluation measure. Time to CRS elimination and time to rubella elimination were not reported by any of the included studies. Reported trends in CRS incidence showed elimination within five years of RCV introduction with scenarios involving mass vaccination of older children in addition to routine infant vaccination. CRS incidence was higher with RCV introduction than without RCV when public vaccine coverage was lower than 50% or only private sector vaccination was implemented. Although vaccination of children at a given age achieved slower declines in CRS incidence compared to mass campaigns targeting a wide age range, this approach resulted in the lowest number of vaccinated individuals per CRS case averted.Conclusion and recommendationsWe were unable to conduct data synthesis of included studies due to discrepancies in outcome reporting. However, qualitative assessment of results of individual studies suggests that vaccination of infants should be combined with vaccination of older children to achieve rapid elimination of CRS. Better outcomes are obtained when rubella vaccination is introduced into public vaccination schedules at coverage figures of 80%, as recommended by WHO, or higher. Guidelines for reporting of outcomes in mathematical modelling studies and the conduct of systematic reviews of mathematical modelling studies are required.