Is a Mass Immunization Program for Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Good Value for Money? Early Evidence from the Canadian Experience.
This work contributes informed estimates to the current debate about the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 mass immunization program's economic merits. We performed a cost-utility analysis of the (H1N1) 2009 mass immunization program in Ontario, Canada's most populous province. The analysis is based on a simulation model of a pandemic (H1N1) 2009 outbreak, surveillance data, and administrative data. We consider no immunization versus mass immunization reaching 30% of the population. Immunization program costs are expected to be $118 million in Ontario. Our analysis indicates this program will reduce influenza cases by 50%, preventing 35 deaths, and cutting treatment costs in half. A pandemic (H1N1) 2009 immunization program is likely to be highly cost-effective.
Sander
Beate
B
Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; University of Guelph; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto; Sunnybrook Hospital, The University of Toronto; Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto; Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment Collaborative(THETA) and University of Toronto.
Bauch
Chris
C
Fisman
David N
DN
Fowler
R
R
Kwong
Jeffrey C
JC
McGeer
Allison
A
Zivkovic Gojovic
Marija
M
Krahn
Murray
M