Maternal influenza immunization in Malawi: Piloting a maternal influenza immunization program costing tool by...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Economics
• Vaccinology

Background:

• First evaluation of a Maternal Influenza Immunization Program Costing Tool (Costing Tool) in Malawi.
• Tool designed for low- and middle-income countries to plan maternal immunization programs.
• Maternal immunization differs from infant programs due to target population and delivery strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the incremental financial and economic costs of a prospective seasonal maternal influenza immunization program.
• To evaluate the utility of the Costing Tool for planning maternal immunization initiatives.
• To compare costs across different vaccine delivery scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of incremental costs for a maternal influenza immunization program integrated with existing childhood immunization and antenatal care services.
• Utilized the Costing Tool to estimate financial and economic costs for various delivery scenarios.
• Examined scenarios including donated vaccines, lower vaccine uptake, and purchased vaccines at different price points.

Main Results:

• Base scenario (donated vaccine, 2.3M women): Total financial cost ~$1.2M over 5 years; economic cost ~$10.4M.
• Cost per immunized pregnancy: $0.52 (financial) and $4.58 (economic).
• Scenarios with lower uptake (1.2M women) and purchased vaccines showed varied cost implications.

Conclusions:

• Maternal influenza immunization programs can have incremental delivery costs comparable to childhood vaccination programs if leveraging existing platforms.
• Purchasing influenza vaccines, rather than relying on donations, presents a significant financial challenge for lower-income countries.
• This study provides a foundational understanding of the costs associated with maternal immunization programs in resource-limited settings.