Costs of influenza vaccination in healthcare workers in Albania

Abstract

Costs of influenza vaccination in healthcare workers (HCWs) in Albania account for a very low proportion of government health expenditure, according to findings of a study published in Vaccine. The WHO’s Seasonal Influenza Immunization Costing Tool (SIICT) was used to estimate incremental costs of facility-based vaccination with trivalent inactivated influenza virus vaccine in HCWs in Albania in the 2018–2019 influenza season, from the government provider perspective, based on data from the 2016–2017 season. The assumed vaccine cost for Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI)donated influenza vaccine was $4.54* per dose. The baseline analysis which assumed that 70% of HCWs (n=13 377) were vaccinated estimated that the total annual financial cost of influenza vaccination was $61 296 and the annual economic cost was $161 639. Vaccine and vaccination supplies accounted for 89% of financial costs and 44% of economic costs. The estimated financial cost per vaccinated HCW was $4.58 and the economic cost was $12.08 when vaccine costs and vaccination supply costs were included. Scenario analysis found that financial costs increased with higher vaccine price ($5.30 per dose for government-acquired vaccine), higher vaccination coverage rates (80%–85%), and use of pre-filled syringes ($0.04 per syringe). However, the economic cost per vaccinated HCW decreased with higher coverage rates. It was estimated that across all scenarios, financial costs of influenza vaccine accounted for up to 0.04% of government health expenditure, and economic costs accounted for up to 5.25% of costs for the national immunisation program in Albania. This cost analysis provides insight into resource requirements and cost drivers for Albania and potentially other middle-income countries considering scaling up influenza vaccination for HCWs, as well as unit cost estimates that can inform cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses to characterize the economic value of influenza vaccination, commented the authors.