Economic Model Computes Value of Workplace Flu Shots

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Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania developed an economic model to calculate costs and benefits of employers providing flu vaccinations as an employee benefit. The team from the university’s Graduate School of Public Health showed employers can save substantial funds offering vaccinations, and the sooner in the flu season the shots are offered the better.

The researcher set out to evaluate the balance between the costs of implementing a workplace vaccination program and the productivity losses from workplace absences from flu-attributed sick days as well as time spent by employees in the vaccination queue. The model assumed employers bore all costs of vaccination education and administration. The model also factored in the risks of employees contracting the flu, which depended on whether an employee was vaccinated, the vaccine’s efficacy, and attack rate of the circulating flu strains.

The team ran the model with historic influenza data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Results from the model show that vaccinating an entire firm of 150 employees could save the business between $9,450 and $14,250. The researchers also discovered that offering vaccinations earlier in the flu season saves the company even more: getting an employee immunized in November instead of December can save an employer between $63 and $95 per person.

The results were presented today (9 November) at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Denver, Colorado.

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