The cost of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Bangladesh

COVID-19 vaccination has been instrumental in fighting the pandemic, but evidence on the actual costs associated with delivering these vaccines in resource-constrained settings has been limited. We estimated the cost of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Bangladesh through five delivery strategies in 2...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Afroja Yesmin, Flavia Moi, Tarek Hossain, Rachel A. Archer, Monjurul Islam, Laura Boonstoppel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2411820
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849689029818187776
author Afroja Yesmin
Flavia Moi
Tarek Hossain
Rachel A. Archer
Monjurul Islam
Laura Boonstoppel
author_facet Afroja Yesmin
Flavia Moi
Tarek Hossain
Rachel A. Archer
Monjurul Islam
Laura Boonstoppel
author_sort Afroja Yesmin
collection DOAJ
description COVID-19 vaccination has been instrumental in fighting the pandemic, but evidence on the actual costs associated with delivering these vaccines in resource-constrained settings has been limited. We estimated the cost of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Bangladesh through five delivery strategies in 2021 and 2022, including Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals, non-MOH government hospitals, outreach at Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) centers, mass campaigns, and schools. This was a bottom-up costing study, estimating costs from a payer and beneficiary perspective. We also mapped the funding flows for COVID-19 vaccination activities and analyzed programmatic and financial challenges. The economic cost incurred by the health system to deliver COVID-19 vaccines was $1.05 per dose, excluding vaccine costs. This was made up of a financial cost of $0.29 per dose and an opportunity cost of $0.75 per dose. School-based delivery incurred the lowest financial cost of $0.27, while outreach at EPI centers incurred the highest at $0.44 per dose. The low financial cost per dose is attributed to the high daily volumes delivered at sampled sites, minimal additional resources provided to sites to implement the COVID-19 vaccination program, and a reliance on the existing workforce. Beneficiaries spent an average of $1.63 to receive a single dose of COVID-19 vaccination at fixed sites, with transport representing the largest cost driver ($0.75 per dose). The economic cost to receive one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was $4.78. Findings can support the Government of Bangladesh to make efficient and equitable resource allocation decisions for vaccination programs.
format Article
id doaj-art-6148b1faa7d24a1da92b9506bdb7988a
institution DOAJ
issn 2164-5515
2164-554X
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Taylor & Francis Group
record_format Article
series Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
spelling doaj-art-6148b1faa7d24a1da92b9506bdb7988a2025-08-20T03:21:46ZengTaylor & Francis GroupHuman Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics2164-55152164-554X2024-12-0120110.1080/21645515.2024.2411820The cost of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in BangladeshAfroja Yesmin0Flavia Moi1Tarek Hossain2Rachel A. Archer3Monjurul Islam4Laura Boonstoppel5ThinkWell, Dhaka, BangladeshThinkWell, Geneva, SwitzerlandThinkWell, Dhaka, BangladeshThinkWell, Manchester, UKExpanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), Directorate General of Health Services, Dhaka, BangladeshThinkWell, Geneva, SwitzerlandCOVID-19 vaccination has been instrumental in fighting the pandemic, but evidence on the actual costs associated with delivering these vaccines in resource-constrained settings has been limited. We estimated the cost of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Bangladesh through five delivery strategies in 2021 and 2022, including Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals, non-MOH government hospitals, outreach at Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) centers, mass campaigns, and schools. This was a bottom-up costing study, estimating costs from a payer and beneficiary perspective. We also mapped the funding flows for COVID-19 vaccination activities and analyzed programmatic and financial challenges. The economic cost incurred by the health system to deliver COVID-19 vaccines was $1.05 per dose, excluding vaccine costs. This was made up of a financial cost of $0.29 per dose and an opportunity cost of $0.75 per dose. School-based delivery incurred the lowest financial cost of $0.27, while outreach at EPI centers incurred the highest at $0.44 per dose. The low financial cost per dose is attributed to the high daily volumes delivered at sampled sites, minimal additional resources provided to sites to implement the COVID-19 vaccination program, and a reliance on the existing workforce. Beneficiaries spent an average of $1.63 to receive a single dose of COVID-19 vaccination at fixed sites, with transport representing the largest cost driver ($0.75 per dose). The economic cost to receive one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was $4.78. Findings can support the Government of Bangladesh to make efficient and equitable resource allocation decisions for vaccination programs.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2411820COVID-19vaccinevaccinationimmunizationcostingdelivery
spellingShingle Afroja Yesmin
Flavia Moi
Tarek Hossain
Rachel A. Archer
Monjurul Islam
Laura Boonstoppel
The cost of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Bangladesh
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
COVID-19
vaccine
vaccination
immunization
costing
delivery
title The cost of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Bangladesh
title_full The cost of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Bangladesh
title_fullStr The cost of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Bangladesh
title_full_unstemmed The cost of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Bangladesh
title_short The cost of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Bangladesh
title_sort cost of covid 19 vaccine delivery in bangladesh
topic COVID-19
vaccine
vaccination
immunization
costing
delivery
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/21645515.2024.2411820
work_keys_str_mv AT afrojayesmin thecostofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT flaviamoi thecostofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT tarekhossain thecostofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT rachelaarcher thecostofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT monjurulislam thecostofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT lauraboonstoppel thecostofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT afrojayesmin costofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT flaviamoi costofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT tarekhossain costofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT rachelaarcher costofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT monjurulislam costofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh
AT lauraboonstoppel costofcovid19vaccinedeliveryinbangladesh