Introduction
Any epidemic’s severity in terms of morbidity and mortality, along with its effects across all areas of society and the economy, stimulates the research establishments to develop and study vaccines. The massive effort is focused on developing vaccinations that eventually lessen the risk of transmission, as well as medicines that inhibit viral proliferation or host tolerance. In this case, anyone who qualifies and is at risk must seek immunization. Herd immunity is an advantage that accrues to non-vaccinated people when the vaccination rate rises. However, what is noteworthy about vaccines is their economic aspect, which, while making the development of vaccines costly, makes them cost-efficient.
Discussion
First, it is vital to see the economic impact on an individual level. In comparison to the option of not taking action, vaccinations cut societal expenditures to $13 billion, a 60% drop in expenditures (Padula et al., 2021). Herd immunity and the availability of vaccinations contribute to various improved results, including 3.4 million fewer hospitalizations and roughly 154,000 fewer fatalities (Padula et al., 2021). In addition, the labor market was found to be only negatively affected by decreased productivity among the unvaccinated by $15 billion (Padula et al., 2021). Given the eventual implications of disease burden to American society and taxpayers, who would be responsible for covering the upfront expenses of technology, immunizations represent a less expensive solution in terms of the financial effect.
The aforementioned statements can be corroborated by precise calculations. For example, if people consider that 330 million Americans could be utilized as a risk pool to pay for the expenses of technology over the course of a year, then the cost of inaction is $102 per individual for society as a whole (Padula et al., 2021). The immunization, by contrast, had a $40 per person financial impact, making it the most cost-effective choice (Padula et al., 2021). Therefore, on an individual level, the economic aspects of immunization indicate decreased expenses.
In comparison, there are additional economic implications for governments and institutions. For instance, the U.S. government spent nearly $20 billion on the development of Covid vaccine (Wang et al., 2021). However, according to research, a dollar invested would provide returns of $15 on average for Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca from the societal viewpoints when considering the potential savings of the high cost of health expenses and the indirect expenses (Wang et al., 2021). Lastly, the three vaccinations saw a saving of $32 dollars when the worldwide economic and educational losses were taken into account (Wang et al., 2021). In this case, the vaccination costs less than the repercussions of not immunizing the public.
Conclusion
Hence, the economic aspect of vaccines is notable since it makes them cost-effective despite the fact that developing them was expensive. Immunizations are a less expensive option in terms of the financial impact given the long-term ramifications of illness burden to American society and taxpayers, who would be liable for financing the initial costs of technology. The vaccine, on the other hand, had a budgetary impact of $40 per person, making it the most economical option. In contrast, the expense of the vaccine is lower than the consequences of not immunizing the populace. The cost of developing vaccines in the United States was close to $20 billion, with an average return on investment of between $15 and $30 per person.
References
Padula, W. V., Malaviya, S., Reid, N. M., Cohen, B. G., Chingcuanco, F., Ballreich, J.,… & Alexander, G. C. (2021). Economic value of vaccines to address the COVID-19 pandemic: A US cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis. Journal of Medical Economics, 24(1), 1060-1069. Web.
Wang, W. C., Fann, J. C. Y., Chang, R. E., Jeng, Y. C., Hsu, C. Y., Chen, H. H.,… & Yen, A. M. F. (2021). Economic evaluation for mass vaccination against COVID-19. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association, 120, 95-105. Web.