Assessing the cost-effectiveness of annual COVID-19 booster vaccination in South Korea using a transmission dynamic model

Front Public Health. 2023 Nov 23:11:1280412. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1280412. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Introduction: We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of South Korea's planned annual coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) booster campaign scheduled for October 2023.

Materials and methods: An age-structured mathematical model was used to analyze the public impacts and cost-effectiveness of vaccination across three vaccination strategies: uniform allocation and prioritizing those over 65 or those over 50 years old. We calculated the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) from both healthcare and societal perspectives. The maximum vaccine cost for cost-effectiveness was also identified.

Results: Our analysis highlights the cost-effectiveness of South Korea's annual COVID-19 vaccination program in mitigating health and economic impacts. The most cost-effective strategy is uniform vaccine allocation, offering the lowest incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) at US$ 25,787/QALY. However, with a relatively high attack rate, the strategy prioritizing individuals over 65 years emerges as more cost-effective, lowering the ICER to US$ 13,785/QALY. Prioritizing those over 50 was less cost-effective. All strategies were cost-saving from a societal perspective, with cost-effectiveness being more sensitive to vaccine price than to its effectiveness.

Discussion: Our results imply a potential strategy shift in current vaccination plan, with uniform vaccine distribution being more cost-effective than prioritizing older adults. Early estimation of viral transmissibility and vaccine effectiveness is crucial in determining the most cost-effective vaccine allocation approach.

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccine; SARS-CoV-2; South Korea; annual vaccination; coronavirus disease; cost-effectiveness; mathematical modeling.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • COVID-19 Vaccines*
  • COVID-19* / prevention & control
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Republic of Korea
  • Vaccination

Substances

  • COVID-19 Vaccines

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (to WC and ES; NRF-2022M3A9I2017587) and by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (to ES; 2021R1A6A1A10044154). The funders had no role in the design of the study, collection and analysis of data, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.