A shot in the arm for all pregnant women?

Universal flu vaccination for pregnant women, a strategy that has been recommended by the federal government since 2004, would cost less than treating women who develop the flu during pregnancy, when the risks of complications and hospitalization are particularly high. (1) Analysts estimated the costs of these two scenarios in a decision model that took into account the costs of hospitalization, ambulatory visits for flu-like illness, vaccine, over-the-counter medications, treatment of adverse effects of vaccine or medications, and caregiving; flu vaccine was assumed to be 70% effective. The bottom line was that vaccinating all pregnant women aged 18-44 would cost about $50 less per woman than providing treatment once a woman becomes ill with the flu; it also would result in a net gain of 45 hours of perfect health. Noting that fewer than half of obstetricians offer all pregnant women flu vaccinations, the analysts hope that their findings will encourage more to follow the recommendation of universal vaccination for this population.

(1.) Roberts Set al., Cost-effectiveness of universal influenza vaccination in a pregnant population, Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2006, 107(6):1323-1329.