Economic and Modeling Analyses to Support Immunization Policy and Programs

The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to support research projects to develop data- and model-based evidence on the public health, epidemiological, and economic impacts of vaccines to support immunization policy and programs. Evidence generated by this cooperative agreement will be timely, accurate and robust, which is critical for producing the highest quality scientific evidence. This evidence is important for decision-makers, aligning with the principles outlined in the recent Executive Order on Restoring Gold Standard Science. This NOFO will expect to use modeling and economic analysis results to estimate and quantify critical indicators on the severity of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) and the benefits that can be achieved with vaccination. These analyses will provide the following types of scientific evidence: (1) the overall public health and economic burden of the vaccine preventable disease from the societal payers', or from providers' perspective, (2) the individual-level economic burden of the disease, where episodes of disease are associated with specific economic costs to individuals and their families, and (3) the public health and economic benefits of a robust immunization system, where benefits can be tabulated as cases, hospitalizations, and deaths prevented, in addition to hours of work and economic productivity gained. These projects would include developing the most appropriate mathematical, epidemiological, and/or decision tree models for any VPD of interest and collecting the most recent data for the parameters of the model, including incidence, efficacy, possible side effects, and effectiveness of the vaccine. Models would be expected to estimate the number of disease-associated outpatient visits, Emergency Department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in the US each year; the costs of these diseases to the US, the probabilities for the individual to move from one health state to another; and the proportion of morbidity and mortality that can be prevented through vaccination. The findings from these economic studies will guide policy and public health decision-makers in enhancing immunization strategies for children, adolescents, and adults. By promoting cost-effective vaccination interventions, these efforts seek to save lives and cut costs on communities and society. The results of this work may also be used for, but not limited to, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) deliberations, communications with public health partners, and other decision-makers and policymakers for the US immunization system.