Vaccines=Big Business?

In 2005, the market for pediatric vaccines was about $5 billion and the market for adult vaccines was about $4 billion.  Yet these figures could be small potatoes.  The Economist predicts that pediatric vaccine market will reach $20 billion by 2014; the adult vaccine market won’t be far behind. What innovations may be on the…

Economics of the Timing of Influenza Vaccine

Although the H1N1 influenza virus has garnered most of the media attention, protecting children against standard strains of influenza has generally been shown to be cost effective.  However, the cost effectiveness depends on the timing.  The flu season generally lasts from September to June, but flu generally has the highest incidence in November and December.…

Paying poor people to get vaccinated

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs have become very popular among development economists.  This programs pay poor families to have their children attend school and/or get vaccinated.  Some of the larger programs include Bolsa Família in Brazil and Oportunidades in Mexico.   Should economists support CCTs that pay the poor to get vaccinated?  This depends on 2 factors: 1)…

Vaccination Works!

Many parents believe that vaccination provides little benefit for their own children, and instead only reduces the probability other kids get sick.  A Kaiser Permanente study refutes this belief for the whooping cough: Compared to children who are immunized against whooping cough, those who aren’t vaccinated are 23 times more likely to get the infection — a…

Vaccination rate overstated

The Washington Post reports that the number of children who have been vaccinated in developing countries has been greatly exaggerated.  Political pressure to increase vaccination rates as well as financial incentives from NGOs rewarded increased vaccinations has driven these reporting errors.  Hat Tip: Marginal Revolution.