Absolutely.
As a parent would you rather comfort a crying child for a couple hours of discomfort after receiving vaccinations, or spend days or even months trying to comfort that child in a hospital bed, or prepare to bury your child? To me, it seems simple to pick to pay the cost for the vaccination, rather than the latter. Not only would that be a huge financial burden, but an emotional burden as well. Vaccines have been shown to have provided more benefit to society than expense, and they have been estimated to save society more than $5 for each dollar spent on most routine pediatric vaccinations. If spending days in the hospital don’t scare you enough, let these numbers do the talking for themselves. These numbers come from a 2007 study. One case of measles is estimated to cost 23 more times the amount spent to vaccinate 1 child against measles. For every dollar spent on MMR more than $21 is saved in direct medical costs. For every dollar spent on diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccine, more than $24 is saved. For every dollar spent on the H. influenzae type b vaccine, more than $2 is saved. It was estimated that the net cost per meningococcal case adverted ranged from $0.6 million to $1.9 million and from $7million to $20 million per death prevented. The cost of many vaccinations is less than the cost needed to treat preventable diseases.
Indirect costs include considerations for cost savings resulting from the preventive elements of vaccines, such as fewer missed work days. Another benefit that is considered is that since vaccines prevent death, vaccines allow children to mature into productive members of society, rather than paying funeral costs.
Source: Supplement to Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy
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