The Value(S) of Vaccination: Building the Scientific Evidence according to a Value-Based Healthcare Approach

Vaccination as a public health intervention intrinsically provides broad value that goes beyond individual benefits. Research has shown that vaccination could determine health-related and care-related productivity gains (due to avoided diseases and need for care), community externalities (e.g. protection of non-vaccinated individuals) and also an improvement in social responsibility and cohesion. These cumulative benefits enable healthier more prosperous societies contributing to the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals as health is also a fundamental resource to development.

Increased investment in public vaccination programmes, recognition of the broader (direct and indirect) value of vaccines and improved program implementation will save lives and protect people throughout life course. Vaccination should be recognised as a high-value public health investment, not just in terms of reducing the burden of disease, but also as an economically and socially beneficial healthcare intervention.

The following executive summary is aimed to collect and synthetize the scientific evidence on the personal, societal, allocative, and technical value of vaccinations with the aim to issue recommendations to drive broader dialogue and meaningful policy actions to facilitate value-based vaccination.