Individual vs societal perspectives: implications on quantitative benefit-risk assessment of vaccination

The benefits and risks of each vaccine must be compared prior to their recommendation and again when new evidence emerges.

A narrative scoping review was conducted by searching MEDLINE via PubMed on 8 October 2024 and 12 September 2025. The implications of benefit-risk assessments of vaccines are discussed. A quantitative benefit-risk assessment may be conducted from an individual perspective, which only considers direct health effects, or from a societal perspective, which considers both direct and indirect health effects (e.g. a reduction of transmissibility through community immunity). Whether the results of quantitative benefit-risk assessment of vaccination encompass an individual or societal perspective should be made clear as this changes the meaning for stakeholders. A societal perspective is fundamental to evaluating vaccine benefits and risks as a population. However, showing a beneficial impact from a societal perspective may not be sufficient motivation to vaccinate oneself or their children.

Benefit-risk assessments of vaccination from an individual perspective may be helpful for these individuals in their vaccine decision-making. Ideally, timely vaccine benefit-risk assessments from both societal and individual perspectives are conducted in parallel, and the results of both are clearly communicated to the public to aid in vaccine decision-making.