We now have an economic analysis of the COVID-19 vaccines:
www.cdc.gov/vaccines...
This is an update of an existing model that includes updates for children, and new findings on adults.
Basically, this compares the costs of vaccination to the costs saved from avoiding COVID-19 outcomes. As one might expect, the cost-effectiveness is greatest for the most elderly because of their far higher risk of hospitalization.
For adults as young as 50, the vaccines can be cost-saving against some scenarios. There are some important limitations though in that the evidence base is limited to help inform estimates for the pediatric population. There is no consideration here for indirect protection.
By “indirect protection” do you mean like if you vaccinate more kids they get their grandparents sick less often?
Do these models factor in the cost of loss of economic productivity from sickness?
Yes- indirect protection is basically herd immunity effects. While they can’t bring R to <1, vaccines do still reduce spread.
They do factor costs and lost productivity from illness, yes.
Does the model assign any economic value to not feeling like shit for several days? (I feel strongly that any cost-benefit analysis that doesn't consider "not feeling like shit" to be a benefit is fundamentally unsound.)
