Cost-effectiveness analysis of 20-valent anti-pneumococcal vaccination in the Spanish pediatric population

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Vaccinology
• Health Economics

Background:

• Pneumococcal disease remains a significant public health concern globally.
• National immunization programs (NIPs) aim to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases through cost-effective strategies.
• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are crucial tools for reducing the burden of pneumococcal disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of introducing different pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV20, PCV13, PCV15) into the Spanish pediatric national immunization program.
• To compare the health and economic impact of PCV20 (3+1 schedule) versus PCV13 (2+1 schedule) and PCV15 (2+1 schedule).

Main Methods:

• A Markov model was utilized from a Spanish National Healthcare System perspective.
• The model simulated the health and cost impact over 10 years, incorporating epidemiological, cost, and utility data.
• Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the findings.

Main Results:

• PCV20 implementation is projected to prevent over 1,000,000 pneumococcal disease cases and more than 150 deaths compared to PCV13 and PCV15.
• Adoption of PCV20 is estimated to yield cost savings of approximately €1 billion versus PCV13 and PCV15.
• Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed PCV20 dominance in 100% of iterations.

Conclusions:

• PCV20 demonstrates superior effectiveness and lower costs compared to PCV13 and PCV15 for the Spanish pediatric NIP.
• The broader serotype coverage of PCV20 contributes to enhanced protection against pneumococcal disease.
• Incorporating PCV20 is a highly cost-effective strategy for pneumococcal disease prevention in Spain.