Publication on the cost of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Vietnam

The findings of a study from the Hanoi University of Public Health and ThinkWell on the cost of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Vietnam have just been published in BMC Health Services Research.

To support the government in planning and budgeting for the COVID-19 vaccination program, the Hanoi University of Public Health and ThinkWell conducted a retrospective, bottom-up costing study that estimated the financial and economic costs for COVID-19 vaccination delivery incurred in 2021. Data were collected retrospectively by a team from the Hanoi University of Public Health at a sample of 26 immunization sites—including health facilities and temporary sites—as well as at higher administrative level in the provinces of Hanoi and Dak Lak, and from the national-level Ministry of Health and development partners.

The economic cost to deliver one COVID-19 vaccine dose was $1.73, mostly comprised of opportunity costs ($1.14 per dose) which were driven by labor costs ($1.12 per dose). The delivery cost in urban areas was the highest ($2.02), followed by peri-urban areas ($1.45) and remote areas ($1.37). Delivery costs were higher at temporary sites ($1.78) when compared to facility-based delivery ($1.63). Comparing low-volume and high-volume periods showed that the delivery cost decreased significantly as volume increased, from $5.24 per dose to $1.65 per dose.

The full study report is available here. This study is part of a multi-country project that utilizes standardized methods to generate cost evidence on the delivery of C19 vaccines in low- and middle-income countries. The project is led by ThinkWell and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and covers studies in Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Uganda, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.