Value of vaccination

Immunisation has saved 154 million lives over the last 50 years – that’s 6 lives every minute¹, and has had a huge positive impact on public health.

It is time to see immunisation as a capital investment, not a cost, and adopt a prevention-first mindset in our approach to health.

Contribution to public health

It has led to the eradication or control of many infectious diseases. For example, smallpox caused 300 million deaths in the 20^th century, but thanks to vaccination, it was completely eradicated in 1980. Thanks to immunisation, childhood mortality has decreased by 40% in the last 5 decades², also contributing to a reduction of childhood illness and long-term disabilities.

Healthcare systems resilience, fight against AMR, vaccine-preventable cancers, infectious diseases.

Key achievements from eradication to control.

Investment in prevention to save money – reduce budget waste by preventing the preventable.

Vaccines save lives and have led to the eradication or control of many infectious diseases

Vaccines can also protect against HPV and Hepatitis B – viruses that can lead to cancer. A recent study found that the rate of cervical cancer in England was reduced by nearly 90% in women after the introduction of the HPV vaccination programme³.

Furthermore, vaccines reduce the misuse of antibiotics and can protect against both viral and bacterial diseases, making them an important tool to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Find out more about the public health impact of vaccines here.

Vaccines reduce the use of antimicrobials by 47 percent and protect against drug resistant forms of diseases

Contribution to economy

Vaccinating an individual against up to 17 diseases throughout their entire life has been estimated to cost only around 3395 euro including administration costs

Vaccination brings economic benefits as well and it’s one of the most cost-effective prevention tools. Reduction in healthcare costs is one benefit that comes with vaccination, for example, yearly seasonal influenza vaccination can save between €248 and €332 million in healthcare costs in Europe by avoiding hospitalisations and visits to healthcare professionals. Furthermore, a report by the Office of Health Economics found that adult immunisation programmes return up to 19 times their initial investment, or up to $4,637 per full vaccination course.

Furthermore, a healthy population contributes to a more productive workforce, decreasing absenteeism due to disease. For example, a measles epidemic in Europe resulted in an average of 21.2 days of absenteeism from work among healthcare professionals who acquired the disease. On average, this resulted in an estimated total direct cost of €3,379 per measles case and a total indirect cost of €1,359⁴

Find out more about the economic impact of vaccines here.

Eradicating smallpox and eliminating polio worldwide saves over 2B euro annually

Immunisation budgets

Budget for prevention and vaccination are low across the EU. 77 percent of EU + UK countries spend less than 0.5 percent of their healthcare budget on immunisation.

Despite the broad value that vaccination brings, immunisation systems are often underfunded. Almost 80% of EU countries allocate less than 0.5% of their healthcare budgets on immunisation, and in some countries, as little as 8 vaccines are publicly funded.

Vaccination brings significant return on investment as well. For example, every Euro invested in adult vaccination (starting at age 50) yields €4 of future economic revenue over the remaining lifetime of the cohort.

Investment in immunisation should be sustainable and prevention of infectious diseases should become a priority to protect people’s health. Continuous investment in research and innovation is also needed for faster access for citizens. In addition, investment in vaccination is key for improving health system resilience.

Find out more about budgets for prevention in the EU here.

Health Technology Assessment (HTA)

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is a way to assess the value a medicinal product brings. HTA exists for medicines but it is hardly included in vaccines’ access pathways. With the HTA Regulation being implemented across EU, there is a unique opportunity to develop a vaccine-specific clinical HTA methodology.

To be able to improve time to population access to new vaccines and streamline the way they are assessed, the EU HTA Regulation should adopt three guiding principles. Now is the time to ensure the EU HTA Regulation framework is appropriate for vaccines.

[1] https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2024-global-immunization-efforts-have-saved-at-least-154-million-lives-over-the-past-50-years
[2] https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2024-global-immunization-efforts-have-saved-at-least-154-million-lives-over-the-past-50-years
[3] Falcaro, M et al. (2021). The effects of the national HPV vaccination programme in England, UK, on cervical cancer and grade 3 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia incidence: a register-based observational study. The Lancet 398: 2084-2092.
[4] Maltezou HC et al (2020). Costs associated with measles in healthcare personnel during the 2017-2018 epidemic in Greece: a real-world data cost-of-illness analysis, J Hosp Infect. 105(1):91- 94. (Accessed September 2021)