Administrative costs of the influenza control program of 1976--1977 in Illinois

In 1976, many resources of state and local agencies were devoted to planning, organizing, implementing and evaluating the influenza immunization program. The costs included salaries and other expenses of specifically employed personnel; diversion of the time of others from their usual responsibilities; and donated resources. They were assessed retrospectively and reported by responsible local agency personnel on a questionnaire. Costs of donated services and other resources were estimated based on assigned unit value. The total cost of the program in Illinois was $3.334 per dose of which $1.733 was accounted for by local agencies, $0.075 by the state agency, and $1.526 by the federal government, including the cost of vaccine doses remaining unused. If the program could have been carried through to include the intended larger numbers of persons, both the administrative costs and the vaccine costs per dose administered would have been much less. The financial cost of the campaign exceeded the federal grant. It must be weighed against the administrative benefits including improved ability to conduct large scale preventive programs and awareness of the importance of both risks of benefits of immunization.