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Background: School influenza vaccination (SIV) clinics have been used for seasonal influenza vaccination and also for public health emergency response to reach school-aged children rapidly as demonstrated during the past influenza season. Maine is one of the few states in which a state-wide SIV program was implemented in 2009-2010; additionally, Maine’s SIV clinics offered both seasonal and H1N1 vaccines and used both LAIV and inactivated vaccines.
Objectives: To retrospectively estimate the cost of SIV clinics in Maine during the 2009-2010 influenza season.
Methods: A survey instrument was developed to capture the time and resources used during SIV clinics. The information of cost data include both labor such as time spent on various activities by type of clinic worker, and medical and non-medical supplies/materials used. Vaccine cost, and the time and resources spent outside the clinic (e.g. planning clinics, collection of consents, Immunization Registry data entry) were not included.
Results: During May –August 2010, six nurses from convenience sample completed a clinic day survey. 4 of the 6 clinics offered both H1N1 and seasonal vaccines and 4 of the 6 clinics offered both LAIV and inactivated vaccines. Data on materials/supplies were available only for 4 of the 6 clinics. On average, each clinic had 18 staff including 7 vaccinators. On average, 17 doses of H1N1 and/or seasonal vaccine (range=4-40) were administered per vaccinator-hour. Average labor cost per dose was estimated at $6.22 (range= $1.93-$20.42) and average material cost $5.72 (range=$2.36-$12.28). From the complete 4 clinic survey responses, average per dose cost for each clinic was estimated $4.75, $8.03, $8.62 and $32.70, an average of $13.52.
Conclusions: The per-dose average cost estimate from Maine is within the range of the SIV cost estimates for vaccine administration from the literature. Data are being analyzed to investigate the factors associated with clinic costs.