Childhood Vaccinations Have Prevented ~508 Million Lifetime Cases of Illness

FRIDAY, Aug. 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Childhood vaccinations continue to provide substantial health and economic benefits, according to research published in the Aug. 8 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Noting that the U.S. Vaccines for Children (VFC) program has covered the cost of vaccines for children whose families might not be able to afford vaccines since 1994, Fangjun Zhou, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues assessed and quantified the health benefits and economic impact of routine U.S. childhood immunizations among VFC-eligible and non-VFC-eligible children born during 1994 to 2023. Established economic models were used to estimate averted illnesses and deaths and associated costs over the lifetimes of 30 annual cohorts of children; net savings were calculated from the perspectives of payers and society.

The researchers found that routine childhood vaccinations will have prevented approximately 508 million lifetime cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1,129,000 deaths among approximately 117 million children born during 1994 to 2023; the associated net savings were $540 billion in direct costs and $2.7 trillion in societal costs.

"This analysis demonstrates the continued and substantial health benefits associated with vaccinating young children, rendering the investment in vaccines and immunization services an important and cost-saving public health strategy," the authors write.

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