Future savings from measles eradication in industrialized countries

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Economics
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Measles remains a significant global health concern, necessitating effective control and eradication strategies.
• Current immunization schedules involve multiple doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine.
• Assessing the economic impact of different vaccination strategies is crucial for resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the potential monetary savings associated with measles eradication in seven industrialized countries.
• To compare the economic outcomes of three distinct measles immunization strategies.

Main Methods:

• Economic modeling was employed to estimate monetary savings under different scenarios.
• Three scenarios were analyzed: a one-dose MMR schedule, an MMR and mumps-rubella schedule, and the current two-dose MMR schedule.
• Analyses considered varying discount rates (3% and 5%) and assumed measles eradication dates (2010 and 2020).

Main Results:

• The largest estimated savings, US $623 million, were achieved by transitioning to a one-dose MMR schedule, assuming a 3% discount rate and eradication by 2010.
• The smallest savings, $10 million, resulted from maintaining the current schedule with a 5% discount rate and eradication by 2020.
• Estimated savings were lower than previous U.S.-specific projections, partly due to the inclusion of ongoing vaccine delivery for bioterrorism preparedness.

Conclusions:

• Optimizing the measles immunization schedule, particularly towards a one-dose MMR strategy, offers substantial economic benefits.
• The economic impact of measles eradication is sensitive to the chosen immunization schedule, discount rate, and eradication timeline.
• Continued vaccine delivery for biodefense considerations may influence the net economic savings from eradication efforts.