Hu, Shanlian, Shi, Qiang, Song, Shengfan, Du, Lixia, He, Jiangjiang, Chen, Chieh-I, Caldwell, Ronald, Wang, Bruce, and Roberts, Craig S.
Abstract: Objective: The goal of this study was to analyze the economic benefits of introducing the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) into the City Immunity Program in Shanghai. Methods: A decision-analytic model designed for pneumococcal disease and outcomes of pneumococcal infection was populated with local, age-specific incidence and cost data to estimate the expected economic benefits from vaccinating a birth cohort of 172,183 infants in Shanghai over a 1-year period using a cross-sectional approach. The analysis was assumed to occur in a year at which time the direct and indirect effects of vaccination have reached a steady state. Costs were calculated from a payer perspective and included vaccination program costs and direct medical expenditures from pneumococcal-related disease. Results: The model predicts that 112,629 cases of pneumococcal-related disease could be prevented during a given year following the introduction of the PCV7 vaccine into the City Immunity Program in Shanghai, leading to a reduction of ¥187,923,359 (US $29,067,790) in direct medical costs. Overall, the inclusion of the PCV7 vaccine is estimated to have a cost-per-life-year saved of ¥37,468 (US $5,796) and a cost-per-quality-adjusted-life-year gained of ¥41,603 (US $6,435) when both the direct and indirect effects of the vaccine resulting from herd protection are taken into account. Conclusions: Results suggest that including PCV7 into the City Immunity Program in Shanghai could be considered cost-effective under generally accepted willingness-to-pay thresholds when both the direct and indirect effects of the vaccine are considered in the analysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]