IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULES

After the development of national vaccine programmes to deliver six vaccines to infants, new vaccine adoption has been limited. Analysis of the health and economic implications of new vaccination options can help national policy-makers. Country specific quantitative policy analyses were conducted to estimate the impact of vaccination against hepatitis B (HB), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP) and rotavirus. Disease burden, programme costs and the potential reduction of disease from vaccination was assessed for each vaccine. Without vaccination, these four vaccine preventable diseases contribute up to 4.1 million deaths in each successive birth cohort. Routine scheduled use of HB and Hib vaccines could prevent up to 1.7 million deaths; SP and rotavirus vaccines, an additional 1.4 million deaths, annually. The global cost per life-year saved ranged from $29 to $150 with great variation by income and economic groups. With a few exceptions for a few countries, these vaccines would cost a fraction of average per-capita gross domestic product to save a life-year. The addition of HB and Hib vaccines, should be considered for integration in all national immunization programmes. SP and rotavirus vaccines, with the given assumptions, would also be cost-effective. Proactive analysis of the economic and epidemiologic impact of these vaccines can hasten their introduction into national vaccination schedules. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY WORDS — immunization programmes; hepatitis B; Haemophilus influenzae type b; Streptococcus; rotavirus; cost; outcom