The Incredible 19x ROI of Adult Vaccines

By Mike Hodin

No, there’s not a decimal point missing. A first-of-its-kind report from the Office of Health Economics — commissioned by IFPMA and released during World Immunisation Week — finds that adult vaccination programs can return up to 19 times initial investment, once you factor in the full spectrum of benefits across the economy, society, and health systems.

This finding should be front-and-center for all payers of health care — every government, employer, and all health systems worldwide. If a new public program, employer benefit, or AI-powered technology was found to offer 19x ROI, it’d be plastered across campaign ads, adopted in every industry of the private sector, or celebrated as a resounding triumph of Silicon Valley.

Yet we are still on the journey to recognize adult vaccines for the incredible, life-saving, economy-boosting innovations that they truly are, ideally suited for our world of more old than young, and exactly the kind required for healthy aging throughout 100-year lives. The benefits are tremendously far-reaching, across not just individual health, but also for strong, productive workforces, high-performing companies, resilient health systems, and prosperous aging societies. It ought to be a staple of our $17+ trillion Silver Economy, itself essential part of economies generally as we reach the 2 billion over 60 mark.

Indeed, the report’s findings add to the mounting evidence for why vaccines should be a top focus for employers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. A few quotes:

For employers and the workforce: “Expanding adult immunisation programmes and coverage can lead to substantial productivity gains by individuals and their caregivers and economic benefits for society. Additionally, adult immunisation programmes can contribute to health and economic equity within countries, particularly benefiting vulnerable populations and underserved communities.”

For health systems and public budgets: “Adult immunisation programmes are highly cost-effective and can result in net cost savings for healthcare systems. Recent studies have highlighted that these programmes not only offer health benefits but also yield financial gains by averting hospital inpatient and emergency care.”

For healthy aging: “Evidence shows that adult immunisation is highly effective in preventing diseases, their sequelae, and mortality, particularly in older adults and those with chronic health conditions.”

And as our own Global Coalition on Aging has highlighted in recent weeks, there are a few key actions to promote adult vaccination, maximize value, and realize those 19x benefits:

· Include adult vaccination on the healthcare agenda worldwide — recognizing that the huge benefits for aging societies deserve inclusion alongside childhood vaccination and innovation areas from TB to CVD, Cancer and Alzheimer’s

· Engage employers in the effort — recognizing that good health goes hand-in-hand with productivity, employee engagement, the multi-generational workforce, and helping employees to plan and pay for today’s long lives. Out of Covid, it is their employer’s role in health that tops the list of factors for deciding where they want to work.

· Embrace adult vaccines together with the Decade of Healthy Ageing — updating our mindset for the needs of a 21st century defined by demographic change that makes adult vaccines one of our most cost-effective tools.

· Add adult vaccines to national immunization programs — recognizing that “widespread uptake of adult vaccines can help to address many of the most pressing challenges that governments and aging societies face, from overburdened health systems and chronic disease to strained public budgets and slowing economic growth.” What we learned in the last century that led to childhood immunization as staples of public health globally and itself leading to today’s longevity, should now in our 21st century be applied to adult immunization. Every national program should have it in their scope, enabling the healthy longevity we all want.

Or, to put it another way: while childhood vaccination was a 20th-century public health miracle, and COVID-19 vaccination ended the pandemic, vaccines are not just a narrow “childhood thing” or “COVID thing.” They are one of our most valuable tools for promoting health and wealth across the entire course of a person’s life, and across economies, communities, and societies.

This latest ground-breaking report underscores, once again, the vital benefits that are available, if we can simply recognize and embrace the full value of adult vaccines to drive what ought to be adult immunization programs everywhere.