KEYWORDS:
Polio eradication
Vaccine
Cost

BACKGROUND:
The possibility of switching from Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) after global interruption of poliovirus transmission is being debated. One of the issues is that the cost of the switch is thought to be high for developing countries.

OBJECTIVE(S):
To estimate the incremental cost of a switch from OPV to IPV in developing countries.

METHOD(S):
The incremental costs for developing countries with different levels of immunization coverage were estimated using secondary data. Data analysis was performed in a spreadsheet model.

RESULT(S):
The results show that the incremental cost of the switch predominantly depends on the price of IPV. The price per dose of IPV when it is used widely is expected to drop, but it is unknown exactly how far. If the price of IPV is $1.00 per dose, the switch is estimated to result in an increase in total annual cost for all developing countries of $95 million, averaging $0.87 per target child. The incremental cost of the switch is different across groups of countries (categorized by levels of coverage). The breakeven price of IPV, at which the incremental cost of the switch is close to zero, for low coverage countries is approximately $0.45; for intermediate coverage countries, $0.65; for high coverage countries, $0.90; and about $0.75 for all developing countries as a whole. Countries will be better off financially when making the vaccine switch if the price of IPV falls below the breakeven price, and worse off if the price of IPV is above it.

CONCLUSIONS(S):
The results suggest a country-by-country approach to switching to IPV with high coverage countries making the switch first.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1)The participants will understand the costing methods used in this study
2)The participants will grasp the results and their implications in terms of the global vaccine choice in the post-polio eradication period.