COVID-19 vaccines should be evaluated from the societal perspective

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Vaccinology
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant global health and economic crises.
• Societal impacts of pandemics extend beyond health to profound macroeconomic losses.
• Current health-payer perspectives (HPP) inadequately value vaccines, overlooking broader economic benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for valuing vaccines from a societal perspective (SP) rather than solely HPP.
• To demonstrate how SP valuation can lead to more efficient and equitable health budget allocation for vaccines.
• To highlight the macroeconomic justification for increased investment in COVID-19 vaccination (CV).

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of health-payer perspective (HPP) versus societal perspective (SP) in vaccine valuation.
• Examination of allocative, productive, and dynamic inefficiencies under HPP.
• Assessment of the impact of HPP on R&D incentives and health equity.

Main Results:

• HPP leads to allocative inefficiency by ignoring health-wealth trade-offs and productive inefficiency by underfunding beneficial health interventions like CV.
• HPP risks dynamic inefficiency by distorting R&D incentives.
• Failure to adopt SP valuation may disproportionately burden vulnerable populations and exacerbate inequality.

Conclusions:

• Valuing vaccines from a societal perspective (SP) is crucial for optimal resource allocation, efficiency, and equity.
• SP valuation ensures health budgets reflect macroeconomic and distributional benefits, promoting adequate investment in vaccines like COVID-19 vaccination (CV).
• Adopting SP valuation for all vaccines ensures a level playing field and maximizes societal welfare.