Cost-effectiveness of using a 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to directly protect adults in England at elevated risk of pneumococcal disease

Objectives Despite the current pneumococcal vaccination program in England for older adults and adults with underlying conditions, disease burden remains high. We evaluated cost-effectiveness of 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV20) compared to current pneumococcal recommendations for adults in England. Methods Lifetime outcomes/costs of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) among adults aged 65-99 years and adults aged 18-64 years with underlying conditions in England were projected using a deterministic cohort model. Vaccination with PCV20 was compared with 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) from the National Health Service perspective. Results PCV20 was cost saving compared with PPV23 in base case and most sensitivity analyses. In the base case, replacing PPV23 with PCV20 prevented 7,789 and 140,046 cases of IPD and hospitalized CAP, respectively, and 22,199 associated deaths, resulting in incremental gain of 91,375 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and incremental savings of 160M pound. In probabilistic sensitivity analyses, PCV20 (vs. PPV23) was cost saving in 85% of simulations; incremental cost per QALY was below 30,000 pound in 99% of simulations. Conclusions PCV20 vaccination in adults aged 65-99 years and those aged 18-64 years with underlying comorbidities in England is expected to prevent more hospitalizations, save more lives, and yield lower overall costs than current recommendations for PPV23.

Automated summary

The study found that replacing PPV23 with PCV20 in England could prevent more hospitalizations, save more lives, and yield lower overall costs, making it a cost-effective option for pneumococcal vaccination.