Rotavirus vaccine – Technical and economic arguments regarding implementation of rotavirus vaccination in the Danish immunisation programme

Rotavirus is the main cause of severe, dehydrating diarrhoea in children under the age of five, but effective vaccinations can prevent rotavirus infection. Despite that, rotavirus vaccination is not part of the Danish immunisation programme.

The main conclusions of our study are

• The World Health Organization (WHO) unequivocally recommends implementing the rotavirus vaccine in all national immunisation programmes. Rotavirus vaccination is part of the immunisation programmes in all countries Denmark is usually benchmarked against in terms of healthcare standards and outcomes, including Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
• Studies have shown that society will receive an economic net benefit of at least DKK 32 million per year if rotavirus vaccination is implemented in Denmark, due to lower healthcare resource utilisation and fewer sick days.
• Rotavirus vaccination can reduce the resources needed in the healthcare system to treat children with rotavirus infection. Based on recent studies, we estimate that over 1,700 hospitalisations, over 13,000 visits to general practitioners, and just under 53,000 home treatments can be avoided each year if rotavirus vaccination is implemented in the Danish immunisation programme.
• Rotavirus vaccination can be implemented within the current system of preventive medical examinations and vaccinations for children without requiring additional visits to general practitioners.
• Based on the above, we recommend that the relevant Danish authorities revisit the decision-making basis for implementing rotavirus vaccination in the Danish immunisation programme to evaluate whether Denmark should keep up with the WHO’s recommendations and comparable national immunisation programmes.

The study is commissioned by GSK.