[Pharmaco-economics of anti-influenza vaccinations]

Abstract

The types of pharmacoeconomic analysis performed in the assessment of influenza vaccination, including cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis are presented in this study. The studies concerned working adults or high-risk elderly people who were selected from Medline and Embase databases. The primary difference between the two types of vaccination programmes is related to the major type of benefits: direct benefits related to averted hospitalizations for elderly versus indirect benefits of averted production losses for healthy working people. In the group of persons aged over 65 years the disease costs are influenced mainly by complications and hospitalizations. Vaccination is most cost-effective in influenza prophylaxis as compared with other strategies (chemoprophylaxis and treatment using neuraminidase or ion channel inhibitors) and may be recommended from the pharmacoeconomic point of view.