Economic evaluation of human papillomavirus vaccination in the United Kingdom.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the cost effectiveness of routine vaccination of 12 year old schoolgirls against human papillomavirus infection in the United Kingdom.


METHODS
Economic evaluation.


METHODS
UK. Population Schoolgirls aged 12 or older.


METHODS
Costs, quality adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost effectiveness ratios for a range of vaccination options.


RESULTS
Vaccinating 12 year old schoolgirls with a quadrivalent vaccine at 80% coverage is likely to be cost effective at a willingness to pay threshold of pound30,000 (euro37,700; $59,163) per QALY gained, if the average duration of protection from the vaccine is more than 10 years. Implementing a catch-up campaign of girls up to age 18 is likely to be cost effective. Vaccination of boys is unlikely to be cost effective. A bivalent vaccine with the same efficacy against human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 costing pound13- pound21 less per dose (depending on the duration of vaccine protection) may be as cost effective as the quadrivalent vaccine although less effective as it does not prevent anogenital warts.


CONCLUSIONS
Routine vaccination of 12 year old schoolgirls combined with an initial catch-up campaign up to age 18 is likely to be cost effective in the UK. The results are robust to uncertainty in many parameters and processes. A key influential variable is the duration of vaccine protection.
Jit
Mark
M
Modelling and Economics Unit, Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London NW9 6BT. mark.jit@hpa.org.uk
Choi
Yoon Hong
YH
Edmunds
W John
WJ
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D003127:Colposcopy / Q000191:economics; D003218:Condylomata Acuminata / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000191:economics*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D012044:Regression Analysis; D006113:United Kingdom; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D014611:Vaccination / Q000191:economics*
D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines