The domestic rotavirus disease burden decreased significantly with the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine in the United States in 2006. The value for money gained by the program in the decade following vaccine introduction was examined in a study. Using healthcare use data from 2001 to 2015 inclusive, the researchers used an age-specific, static, multicohort compartmental model to investigate the impact and cost-effectiveness of the US rotavirus immunization program in children under the age of 5. From a healthcare system and societal perspective, researchers estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) every quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. From 2006 to 2011, there was a decline in healthcare use linked to rotavirus and acute gastroenteritis, which grew before stabilizing in 2010 and 2011. Between 2011 and 2015, an estimated 1,18,000 hospitalizations, 86,000 emergency department presentations, and 4,60,000 outpatient and physician office visits were avoided on an annual basis. During the same time period, the program was projected to be cost-effective in the base case model and greater than 90% of probabilistic sensitivity analysis simulations. From a healthcare system viewpoint, greater than 98% of simulations found an ICER of less than $1,00,000 per QALY gained. After the program had stabilized, the researchers discovered that rotavirus vaccination in the United States had likely saved society money. The success of the rotavirus immunization program in the United States is shown in the higher-than-expected healthcare and productivity savings.
Link:academic.oup.com/cid/article-abstract/73/8/1424/6285405?redirectedFrom=fulltext
