NYC Vaccination Campaigns Saved $27.96 Billion in Healthcare Expenses

The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm when it began in January 2020. Densely populated cities took a brutal hit with more significant percentages of infection, hospitalization, and death due to this illness. The development and rollout of COVID-19 vaccines were tremendous contributions to minimizing the burdens associated with this viral infection. New York City’s Vaccine for All campaign was a major contributing factor to the uptake of vaccines and the reduced load. A recent analysis published in JAMA Network Open analyzed the return on investment (ROI) of the NYC campaign, finding that it had saved about $27.96 billion in healthcare expenses.

According to the publication, the city invested nearly $2.44 billion in direct cost to the vaccine campaign between December 14, 2020, and January 31, 2022. Indirect costs, including loss of workdays for getting a vaccination or adverse side effects, amounted to $2.39 billion.

The researchers also estimated that COVID-19 health outcomes with vaccination cost $7.45 billion in direct expenses, while without vaccination, direct costs are nearly 4.5 times as much at $33.04 billion. Additionally, indirect costs for vaccinated individuals were $1.87 billion, while unvaccinated individuals had indirect costs amounting to $4.22 billion. Researchers in the publication state that vaccination was thought to save $27.96 in healthcare expenditures.

In addition to analyzing the financial savings due to healthcare expenditures, researchers also determined that the pandemic led to 92,280 potential years of life lost (PYLL). This was an approximate 6.06 potential years lost of life per person. Without vaccination, PYLL would have been significantly higher at an estimated 408,707 PYLL.  Without the vaccine campaign, the value of statistical life (VSL) would have been $33.93 billion; however, that campaign reduced the number to $7.70 billion.

“The New York City COVID-19 vaccination campaign was associated with not only reduction in severe outcomes but also avoidance of substantial economic losses from high costs of health care and value of lives lost. This considerable ROI provides compelling evidence for the continued investment in improving vaccine uptake during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” concluded researchers in the publication.

This study clearly showed the economic benefits of COVID vaccination and COVID vaccine campaigns. With this in mind, public health experts and government officials may consider hosting other campaigns and investing in vaccine campaigns for additional savings.