Cost-effectiveness and budget impact analyses for the prioritisation of the four available rotavirus vaccines in the national immunisation programme in Thailand.
Luangasanatip N., Mahikul W., Poovorawan K., Cooper BS., Lubell Y., White LJ., Teerawattananon Y., Pan-Ngum W.
BACKGROUND: Rotavirus is a major cause of diarrhoea in children less than five years old in Thailand. Vaccination has been shown to be an effective intervention to prevent rotavirus infections but has yet to be enlisted in the national immunisation programme. This study aimed to assess the cost-utility of introducing rotavirus vaccines, taking all WHO-prequalified vaccines into consideration. METHODS: A cost-utility analysis was performed using a transmission dynamic model to estimate, from a societal perspective, the costs and outcomes of four WHO-prequalified rotavirus vaccines: Rotarix®, RotaTeq®, ROTAVAC® and ROTASIIL®. The model was used to simulate the impact of introducing the vaccines among children aged