Economic evaluations of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine: systematic review of the literature

Abstract

With the arrival of new, more expensive vaccines, economic evaluation has become an important tool for assessing the feasibility of introducing a new vaccine into a country's routine immunization schedule. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine has been available since the early 1990s, but uptake of the vaccine was slow in low-income countries until the GAVI Alliance started offering financial support for it. However, at some point, GAVI Alliance-supported countries will have to identify other sources of financing for Hib vaccine, meaning cost-effectiveness evidence will be important to support resource allocation decisions. Several middle-income countries have not yet introduced the vaccine. Thus, the aim of this literature review was to identify and evaluate the published evidence on the cost-effectiveness of the Hib vaccine, with particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. It is concluded that there are only few studies available from resource-poor countries and some of these are of low quality.