New VoVRN publications on targeted interventions for infectious disease and investing in public health facilities

Two new publications from the Value of Vaccination Research Network have been released, you can find details on these below.

Targeted interventions can ease the burden of pandemics

Although major epidemics and pandemics can take an enormous human toll and impose a staggering economic burden, early and targeted health and economic policy interventions can often mitigate both to a substantial degree. Researchers from VoVRN discuss and review literature on the macroeconomic effects of epidemics and pandemics since the late twentieth century. They explore how health drives economic growth and well-being and methods for assessing the economic burden of infectious diseases. They suggest a framework for evaluating the trade-offs policymakers must consider when addressing infectious diseases and their macroeconomic repercussions. The economic consequences of disease will be dependent on disease characteristics, inequalities among individuals, and differences in institutional and macroeconomic environments. They discuss the pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical policies available for preventing and easing infectious diseases and their macroeconomic repercussions. They apply this assessment of the health and economic burden to five infectious diseases: HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, influenza, and COVID-19.

Better public health facilities can improve vaccination outcomes

Universal coverage of routine childhood vaccines remains a challenge in many low- and middle-income countries. Furthermore, in a country like India, the effect of health system inputs on child vaccination outcomes remains poorly quantified. VoVRN researchers from the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP), examined the association between the quality of public health facilities and child vaccination outcomes in rural India. Using data from the nationally representative Integrated Child Health and Immunization Survey (2015-2016) which covered 1,346 public primary health sub-centers and 44,571 households, they constructed two indices: one related to the general health infrastructure quality and the other measuring vaccine service delivery. They analyzed the relationship between vaccination outcomes in children under 2 years of age and sub-center quality, controlling for household socioeconomic characteristics. They found that infrastructure quality was positively associated with completion of seven vaccination outcomes and that vaccine service delivery was positively associated with completion of measles vaccination.

You can find more information on VoVRN and access all materials and publications using the link below.