News Release

Ontario's universal influenza program

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PLOS

Ontario's universal influenza program reduces influenza attacks and deaths and is economically attractive

A universal program to provide free influenza vaccination to everyone in Ontario, Canada is economically attractive compared to vaccination programs in other Canadian provinces targeting people at high risk of influenza, according to an analysis published in PLoS Medicine this week.

Beate Sander of the University of Toronto and colleagues evaluated the health outcomes and health care costs of Ontario's program which since 2000 has offered everyone over six months of age a free influenza vaccination. Their appraisal follows a 2008 study also published in PLoS Medicine showing that after the introduction of the universal program in Ontario vaccination rates increased, deaths from influenza decreased and influenza-related use of health care facilities decreased in comparison with the provinces with targeted programs. Most Canadian provinces target free vaccination programs only at people aged 65 years or older, those with chronic medical conditions or health care workers – all groups that are at high risk of influenza complications.

The researchers compared vaccine uptake, physician visits, emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths from influenza in Ontario and nine other Canadian provinces between 1997 and 2004. Ontario's universal program cost about twice as much as the targeted vaccination program, but the researchers estimate that it reduced the number of influenza cases by two thirds and the number of influenza deaths by more than a quarter. The researchers calculated that the additional expenditure required to generate a year of perfect health – expressed as cost per quality-adjusted-life-year (QALY) – in Ontario 's universal program was approximately Can$11,000 per QALY gained, a figure that would be considered cost-effective in high-income countries such as Canada.

The researchers conclude that Ontario's universal program is economically attractive – reducing the number of influenza cases and deaths and reducing health resources used. They acknowledge that province-specific epidemiological and health care factors may have influenced the size of this effect. But given the findings, the researchers suggest that universal vaccination programs may be an appealing intervention in other Canadian provinces and in high-income jurisdictions with influenza transmission rates and health care costs similar to those in Ontario.

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Citation: Sander B, Kwong JC, Bauch CT, Maetzel A, McGeer A, et al. (2010) Economic Appraisal of Ontario's Universal Influenza Immunization Program: A Cost-Utility Analysis. PLoS Med 7(4): e1000256. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000256

Funding: This study was supported by an operating grant from the University of Toronto Research Program, which provided fellowship support for BA, and by an operating grant from the Public Health Agency of Canada. JCK was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship Award at the time of the study and is currently supported by an Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) Career Scientist Award and a University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine Research Scholar Award. This work was made possible with the support of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), which is funded in part by the Ontario MOHLTC. The opinions, results and conclusions reported in this paper are those of the authors and are independent from the funding sources. No endorsement by ICES or the Ontario MOHLTC is intended or should be inferred. The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. The researchers are independent from the funders.

Competing Interests: BS has served as consultant to F. Hoffmann La-Roche for economic evaluations of Tamiflu (unrestricted funding). BS has received travel grants and honoraria for speaking at meetings on pandemic influenza mitigation strategies from F. Hoffmann La-Roche.

Related PLoS Medicine study Kwong JC, Stukel TA, Lim J, McGeer AJ, Upshur REG, et al. (2008) The Effect of Universal Influenza Immunization on Mortality and Health Care Use. PLoS Med 5(10): e211.

IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER: http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000256

PRESS-ONLY PREVIEW OF THE ARTICLE: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-07-04-sander.pdf

CONTACT:

Beate Sander
University of Toronto
Health Policy, Management and Evaluation
University Health Network, Toronto General Hospital
200 Elizabeth Street EN13-239
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4
Canada
+1 (416) 340 4800 ext. 6907
bsander@uhnres.utoronto.ca


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