Seasonal and Pandemic Workplace Influenza Vaccination: An Economic Simulation Model

Background: Influenza may result in substantial workplace absenteeism annually. Understanding the economic value of employer-sponsored seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccination from the employer's perspective may help determine how much to invest in influenza prevention. Methods: We developed a decision analytic computer simulation model including dynamic transmission elements to evaluate the balance between the costs of implementing a workplace vaccination program and the productivity losses from influenza-attributable workplace absences as well as employees' participation in the vaccination queue. Employers were assumed to bear all costs of vaccination education and administration, including vaccine costs, administration by a health-care professional, and vaccination education materials. Risk of influenza depended on whether an employee was vaccinated, vaccine efficacy, and attack rate of the circulating strains of influenza. Results: In all seasonal influenza scenarios, employer sponsored influenza vaccination programs were relatively inexpensive (<$0/vaccinated employee) and in many cases, actually generated cost savings for employers across most Bureau of Labor Statistics defined-occupational groups. In pandemic scenarios, for a 20% serologic attack rate, cost savings were -$33.94 to -$700.69 per vaccinated employee. A 30% serologic attack rate pandemic scenario yielded cost savings of -$66.83 to -$1063.16 per vaccinated employee across all major occupational groups. Conclusions: Employer-sponsored influenza vaccination programs are relatively inexpensive in seasonal scenarios and can actually generate cost-savings, especially in pandemic scenarios. Showing the minimal and in fact positive effect that influenza vaccination could have on businesses' profit and loss statements could be motivation for employers to sponsor workplace-based vaccination programs.