Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2010 Jul 19;28(32):5292-300.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.05.048. Epub 2010 Jun 3.

Single versus multi-dose vaccine vials: an economic computational model

Affiliations
Comparative Study

Single versus multi-dose vaccine vials: an economic computational model

Bruce Y Lee et al. Vaccine. .

Abstract

Single-dose vaccine formats can prevent clinic-level vaccine wastage but may incur higher production, medical waste disposal, and storage costs than multi-dose formats. To help guide vaccine developers, manufacturers, distributors, and purchasers, we developed a computational model to predict the potential economic impact of various single-dose versus multi-dose measles (MEA), hemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), yellow fever (YF), and pentavalent (DTP-HepB-Hib) vaccine formats. Lower patient demand favors fewer dose formats. The mean daily patient arrival thresholds for each vaccine format are as follows: for the MEA vaccine, 2 patients/day (below which the single-dose vial and above which the 10-dose vial are least costly); BCG vaccine, 6 patients/day (below, 10-dose vial; above, 20-dose vial); Hib vaccine, 5 patients/day (below, single-dose vial; above, 10-dose vial); YF vaccine, 33 patients/day (below, 5-dose vials; above 50-dose vial); and DTP-HepB-Hib vaccine, 5 patients/day (below, single-dose vial; above, 10-dose vial).

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
General Model Structure where: v is the number of doses per vial, n is the total number of patients arriving ÷ v (roundup), and x is the number patients vaccinated. It is assumed that vaccine vials are discarded within 6 hours of reconstitution.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Vial Utilization Rate by Clinic Demand and Doses per Vial
FIGURE 3(a-c)
FIGURE 3(a-c)
Average Costs per Dose (by Clinic Demand and Doses per Vial) for: (a) Measles Vaccine (b) Vaccine and Disposal, and (c) Vaccine, Disposal and Storage
FIGURE 4(a-c)
FIGURE 4(a-c)
Acceptability Curves for Average Costs per Dose (by Clinic Demand and Doses per Vial) for: (a) Measles Vaccine, (b) Vaccine and Disposal, and (c) Vaccine, Disposal and Storage

References

    1. World Health Organization Vaccine Volume Calculator. 2009. cited 2010 February 20, 2010]; Immunization service delivery and accelerated disease control]. Available from: http://www.who.int/immunization_delivery/systems_policy/logistics/en/ind....
    1. Parmar D, Baruwa EM, Zuber P, Kone S. Impact of wastage on single and multidose vaccine vials: Implications for introducing pneumococcal vaccines in developing countries. Hum Vaccin. 2010 Mar 21;6(3) - PubMed
    1. Drain PK, Nelson CM, Lloyd JS. Single-dose versus multi-dose vaccine vials for immunization programmes in developing countries. Bull World Health Organ. 2003;81(10):726–31. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gooding J, Millage A, Rye AK, Lacroix R. The cost and safety of multidose use of palivizumab vials. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 2008 Mar;47(2):160–3. - PubMed
    1. Griffiths UK, Korczak VS, Ayalew D, Yigzaw A. Incremental system costs of introducing combined DTwP-hepatitis B-Hib vaccine into national immunization services in Ethiopia. Vaccine. 2009 Feb 25;27(9):1426–32. - PubMed

Publication types