Vaccine
Volume 28, Issue 7, Pages 1661-1892 (17 February 2010)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0264410X

Cost-effectiveness of the CRM-based 7-valent pneumococcal conjugated vaccine (PCV7) in Argentina
Pages 2302-2310
Norberto D. Giglio, Alejandro D. Cane, Paula Micone, Angela Gentile

Abstract
Due to the region’s own conditions, universal vaccination with pneumococcal conjugate heptavalent vaccine (PCV-7) in Latin American countries is still controversial.
Objective
To compare projected economic costs and health benefits associated with pneumococcal conjugate heptavalent vaccine as a routine immunization in healthy children in Argentina.

Design
A decision analytic model of Markov simulated lifetime evolution of a birth cohort (n 696,451) was developed and compared costs and health benefits of pneumococcal disease in the presence and absence of vaccination.

Main outcome measures
Cost per life year (LY) gained, reduce in diseases burden and costs of vaccination.

Results
From the society’s perspective, the incremental cost per LY gained was US$ 5599.42 and the purchase of the 4 doses of vaccine for the entire cohort with a cost of US$ 26.5 dose requires an investment of US$ 73,823,806.00.

The model estimated that vaccination reduce the number of death by 159 cases of meningitis, 756 cases of bacteriemias 4594 cases of pneumonias about 84,769 cases of otitis media and 20 meningitis sequelae.

The value of the cost per LY gained was considerably modified by the variation in the cost of the vaccine dose, efficacy/effectiveness of the vaccine for pneumonia the mortality from pneumonia and herd immunity.

Conclusions
Our analysis predicted that routine vaccination of healthy infants <2 years could prevent an important number of pneumococcal infectious and reduce related mortality and morbidity. This strategic could be highly cost-effective in Argentina.