The cost of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Bangladesh

Autor: Afroja Yesmin, Flavia Moi, Tarek Hossain, Rachel A. Archer, Monjurul Islam, Laura Boonstoppel
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, Vol 20, Iss 1 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 21645515
2164-554X
2164-5515
DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2024.2411820
Popis: COVID-19 vaccination has been instrumental in fighting the pandemic, but evidence on the actual costs associated with delivering these vaccines in resource-constrained settings has been limited. We estimated the cost of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Bangladesh through five delivery strategies in 2021 and 2022, including Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals, non-MOH government hospitals, outreach at Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) centers, mass campaigns, and schools. This was a bottom-up costing study, estimating costs from a payer and beneficiary perspective. We also mapped the funding flows for COVID-19 vaccination activities and analyzed programmatic and financial challenges. The economic cost incurred by the health system to deliver COVID-19 vaccines was $1.05 per dose, excluding vaccine costs. This was made up of a financial cost of $0.29 per dose and an opportunity cost of $0.75 per dose. School-based delivery incurred the lowest financial cost of $0.27, while outreach at EPI centers incurred the highest at $0.44 per dose. The low financial cost per dose is attributed to the high daily volumes delivered at sampled sites, minimal additional resources provided to sites to implement the COVID-19 vaccination program, and a reliance on the existing workforce. Beneficiaries spent an average of $1.63 to receive a single dose of COVID-19 vaccination at fixed sites, with transport representing the largest cost driver ($0.75 per dose). The economic cost to receive one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was $4.78. Findings can support the Government of Bangladesh to make efficient and equitable resource allocation decisions for vaccination programs.
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