Investing in Public Health: Cost-Benefit Analysis of VaxUp! Augusta COVID-19 Vaccination Initiative
Abstract
Background
During September-December 2021, City of Augusta used American Rescue Plan funds to incentivize COVID-19 vaccination within the county. The objective of this study is to conduct cost-benefit analysis of the VaxUp! Augusta initiative.
Methods
VaxUp! Augusta program provided $100 incentives to the eligible individuals who became fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In October, the incentive increased to all individuals receiving any of the doses.
We used data from the local Department of Public Health, Augusta University Medical Center, and the most recent literature to estimate the costs and benefits of VaxUp! Augusta. Costs included were vaccination costs as well as costs associated with administrative expenses and opportunity costs. The benefits of the VaxUp! were defined as cost savings from averted infections and their consequences due to vaccination.
The study starts with identical vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts equaling to the number of people that were served by the VaxUp! Augusta. We calculate the total number of people that will be infected based on vaccination status, vaccine effectiveness against delta variant, and infection spreadability (R0). Then, we estimated the costs associated with these infection outcomes categorized into treated at home, hospitalized (critical, severe, mild-moderate), and died.
Results
The total number of the cohort is 3,930 individuals and we use this as the baseline for both cohorts (vaccinated and unvaccinated comparison cohort) to calculate costs and benefits from the program. Our preliminary results show that the total cost of the program was $1,069,677. The benefit of the program, was estimated to be $48,939,436, which results in a cost-to-benefit ratio of 0.0219 or an RoI of 45.8.
Conclusion
Based on our preliminary analysis, the VaxUp! Augusta program shows to be an economically viable public health ‘investment’, which not only saves lives and averts infections, but also is an effective use of public’s scare resources.
Keywords
COVID-19, cost-benefit analysis, economic incentive
Investing in Public Health: Cost-Benefit Analysis of VaxUp! Augusta COVID-19 Vaccination Initiative
Background
During September-December 2021, City of Augusta used American Rescue Plan funds to incentivize COVID-19 vaccination within the county. The objective of this study is to conduct cost-benefit analysis of the VaxUp! Augusta initiative.
Methods
VaxUp! Augusta program provided $100 incentives to the eligible individuals who became fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In October, the incentive increased to all individuals receiving any of the doses.
We used data from the local Department of Public Health, Augusta University Medical Center, and the most recent literature to estimate the costs and benefits of VaxUp! Augusta. Costs included were vaccination costs as well as costs associated with administrative expenses and opportunity costs. The benefits of the VaxUp! were defined as cost savings from averted infections and their consequences due to vaccination.
The study starts with identical vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts equaling to the number of people that were served by the VaxUp! Augusta. We calculate the total number of people that will be infected based on vaccination status, vaccine effectiveness against delta variant, and infection spreadability (R0). Then, we estimated the costs associated with these infection outcomes categorized into treated at home, hospitalized (critical, severe, mild-moderate), and died.
Results
The total number of the cohort is 3,930 individuals and we use this as the baseline for both cohorts (vaccinated and unvaccinated comparison cohort) to calculate costs and benefits from the program. Our preliminary results show that the total cost of the program was $1,069,677. The benefit of the program, was estimated to be $48,939,436, which results in a cost-to-benefit ratio of 0.0219 or an RoI of 45.8.
Conclusion
Based on our preliminary analysis, the VaxUp! Augusta program shows to be an economically viable public health ‘investment’, which not only saves lives and averts infections, but also is an effective use of public’s scare resources.
