A study published in BMC Health Services Research estimates the fiscal delivery costs of COVID-19 vaccination at US$49.8 million for a 13-month period during which 2.6 million doses were delivered, with fiscal and economic delivery costs per dose estimated at US$19 and US$33 respectively. Over half of fiscal costs accounted for newly hired staff who supported not just vaccine delivery, but also co-ordination and social mobilization efforts. Vaccines were procured and donated at an average price per dose of US$13.46, increasing the economic cost per dose delivered to approximately US$47.
Costs were found to be substantially higher than modelled estimates for COVID-19 vaccine delivery and the costs of delivering routine childhood vaccines. This suggests that rolling out a new vaccine to an entire population in the middle of a pandemic requires additional financial investments beyond what has been typical for immunization services in the past.
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