Cost-effectiveness of interventions for the prevention and control of COVID-19: Systematic review of 85 modelling studies

Background We aimed to quantitatively summarise the health economic evaluation evidence of prevention and control programs addressing COVID-19 globally. Methods We did a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the economic and health benefit of interventions for COVID-19. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library of economic evaluation from December 31, 2019, to March 22, 2022, to identify relevant literature. Meta-analyses were done using random-effects models to estimate pooled incremental net benefit (INB). Heterogeneity was assessed using 1 2 statistics and publication bias was assessed by Eggefs test. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42021267475. Results Of 16860 studies identified, 85 articles were included in the systematic review, and 25 articles (10 studies about non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs), five studies about vaccinations and 10 studies about treatments) were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled INB of NPIs, vaccinations, and treatments were $1378.10 (95% CI = $1079.62, $1676.59), $254.80 (95% CI =$169.84, $339.77) and $4115.11 (95% CI =$1631.09, $6599.14), respectively. Sensitivity analyses showed similar findings. Conclusions NPIs, vaccinations, and treatments are all cost-effective in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. However, evidence was mostly from high-income and middle-income countries. Further studies from lower-income countries are needed.

Automated summary

This study aims to summarize the quantitative evidence of health economic evaluation in the prevention and control programs addressing COVID-19 worldwide. The results show that non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs), vaccinations, and treatments are all cost-effective in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the evidence mainly comes from high-income and middle-income countries, and further studies from lower-income countries are needed.