Chicken pox vaccine for kids saves society big bucks

Updated 11:00 AM September 9, 2004

Chicken pox vaccine for kids saves society big bucks

By Kara Gavin
UMHS Public Relations

The chicken pox vaccine has saved America hundreds of millions of dollars since its introduction in 1995 by preventing the kinds of severe cases that used to send children, teens and adults to the hospital, a new study finds. In fact, it's even more effective—and cost-effective—than originally predicted at preventing hospitalizations and hospital costs.

And the widespread immunity to the disease that has resulted from vaccination of most children even appears to be protecting people who haven't had the shot, researchers say. Fewer infections among kids means less exposure for teens and adults who haven't had the disease or the vaccine—and who are most likely to need hospital treatment for symptoms and complications if they get the disease.

In a paper in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics, a team from C.S. Mott Children's Hospital gives the first data ever to report a national decrease in chicken pox-related hospitalization occurring simultaneously with the rise in immunization rates for the disease.

"The results show an annual savings of $100 million since the varicella, or chicken pox, vaccine was introduced, just in the cost of hospital care for people with severe cases. That's greater than the savings predicted in the vaccine's pre-approval analysis," says lead author and U-M pediatrician Dr. Matthew M. Davis. "The hospital bill savings were considerable for Medicaid and private insurers, and ultimately for the taxpayers, employers and employees who pay for that coverage."

The savings don't include other chicken pox costs, such as doctor visits, prescription drugs, over-the-counter remedies or lost work time for parents or adult patients—all of which are expected to be reduced as a result of the chicken pox vaccine.

But the yearly hospital cost savings alone are enough to pay for a large portion of the total cost of vaccinating all American kids against chicken pox, Davis says.

The study shows that the national rate of hospital discharges for chicken pox and related complications dropped 74 percent in the first six years after the vaccine first went on the market. Before the vaccine, there was one chicken pox-related hospitalization each year for every 20,000 Americans. By 2001, when 76 percent of toddlers had been vaccinated, the rate was 0.26 hospitalizations per 20,000 people.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that before the vaccine, there were 4 million cases of chicken pox nationwide each year, resulting in 11,000 hospitalizations and 100 deaths. Most cases were treated at home.

After the vaccine's introduction, the new study shows, the biggest drop in hospitalization rates was among young children, for whom the vaccine has been recommended since 1995 and now is required for school or day care enrollment in most states.

But teens and adults also had a decline in hospital costs, probably due to an effect called "herd immunity" that keeps the virus from spreading among unvaccinated, previously uninfected people.

Adults and teens who have not yet had chicken pox or the varicella vaccine should consider protecting themselves against possible infection by getting vaccinated, says Davis, an assistant professor of pediatrics and general internal medicine at the Medical School and assistant professor of public policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

The study was based on data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and funded by the U-M Health System.

In addition to Davis, the paper's authors are Mitesh Patel and Acham Gebremariam, both of the Department of Pediatrics. All the authors are part of U-M's Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, which has several grants to study vaccine-related issues. None of the authors has any financial connection to the varicella vaccine's manufacturer.

Chicken pox vaccine for kids saves society big bucks

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