Economic Analysis Of The Covid-19 Vaccine : A Literature Review
Background
• COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for more than one year. To slow the spread of transmission and shorten the duration of the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines are required in order to create an immune response towards COVID-19 disease and reach herd immunity in a population. The economic aspect of the COVID-19 vaccine should be evaluated. This literature review was carried out to analyze several economic factors of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Methods
• We searched across several research platforms and included published journals that reported economic evaluation of the COVID-19 vaccine, specifically about willingness to pay, cost, and financing preferences.
Results
• The 20 studies included in this data review predominantly used cross-sectional online survey as their research method. Most of these studies showed that people with moderate to high income have higher percentage of willingness to pay, while some others refused to pay with a reason that the Government/Insurance should pay the vaccine instead.
• If the vaccine is >80% effective, it was found to be cost saving at any cost saving >30%. However, lack of study reported about cost effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. Other factor that needs to be evaluated is cost/benefit analysis of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Conclusion
• These evidences suggest that if possible, the Government should fully accommodate the COVID-19 vaccination program. However, the Government can put charges on moderate to high income people for a single COVID-19 vaccine. It is suggested to choose a COVID-19 vaccine with high effectiveness for cost saving, but a vaccine with limited effectiveness found to produce more costs. Further study about cost effectiveness and cost/benefit of an ongoing COVID-19 vaccine is recommended.