The cost-effectiveness of introducing a varicella vaccine to the New Zealand immunisation schedule.

Abstract

This study examined the cost-effectiveness of adding a varicella vaccine to an existing childhood immunisation schedule relative to a counterfactual where the varicella vaccine is available on a user-pays basis (the current New Zealand situation). The costs and consequences of chickenpox in an annual cohort of 57,200, 15-month old children were simulated for a 30-year period. The cohort simulation design captures the 'phasing-in' effects of routine varicella vaccination on the population. From a health care payer's perspective (medical costs only) every dollar invested in a vaccination programme would return NZ $0.67. However, from a societal point of view (which includes the value of wo..