UK report on vaccine cost effectiveness criticized by charity

British charity Meningitis Now has issued a statement criticising a government report on vaccine cost effectiveness, saying it represents “a significant threat to the future of the UK’s lifesaving meningitis vaccine program.”

The Cost-Effectiveness Methodology for Immunization Programs & Procurement, or CEMIPP report, proposes “stricter tests for new vaccines to pass compared to existing rules, by lowering the value of the benefit gained from vaccines from £20,000 ($27,000) to £15,000 per person.”

The report also proposes a reduction in the discount rate from 3.5% to 1.5%, which the charity welcomes, saying that it “puts greater value on the health benefits of vaccination that may not materialize until a number of years in the future, and the benefit of how vaccinating one person might help to stop the spread of diseases, known as ‘herd immunity’.”