Many economic analyses, including those that address the COVID-19 pandemic, focus on the value of averting deaths and do not include the value of averting nonfatal illnesses. Yet, incorporating the value of averting nonfatal cases may change conclusions about the desirability of the policy. Researchers from the Center for Health Decision Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health describe and implement an approach for approximating the value of averting nonfatal illnesses or injuries and apply it to COVID-19 in the USA. Gains from averting COVID-19 morbidity were estimated at about 0.01 quality-adjusted life year (QALY) per mild case averted, 0.02 QALY per severe case, and 3.15 QALYs per critical case. These gains translate into monetary values of about $5300 per mild case, $11,000 per severe case, and $1.8 million per critical case.
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