ArticleHuman vaccines & immunotherapeutics2015
Cost-effectiveness analysis of a vaccination program for the prevention of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia in adults aged 50 and over in Germany.
Article in Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review of Methods for Estimating Productivity Losses due to Illness or Caregiving in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.PharmacoEconomics · 2024Pooled it
- Cost-Effectiveness of Herpes Zoster Vaccination: A Systematic Review.PharmacoEconomics · 2019Pooled it
- Health economic evaluation of health promotion and disease prevention in Germany: a scoping review.Health economics review · 2026Review
- Immune Dysregulation in Acute Herpes Zoster: Predictive Factors for Postherpetic Neuralgia.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2025Article
- Exploring the causal relationship between plasma proteins and postherpetic neuralgia: a Mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Vaccine-associated enhanced disease in humans and animal models: Lessons and challenges for vaccine development.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Review
- Vaccination for quality of life: herpes-zoster vaccines.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2021Review
- Herpes zoster vaccine: A health economic evaluation for Switzerland.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2017Article
- Clinical and economic impact of herpes zoster vaccination in elderly in Italy.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Herpes zoster (HZ; shingles) is a common viral disease that affects the nerves and surrounding skin causing a painful dermatomal rash and leading to debilitating complications such as, mainly, post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). Currently, there is no effective treatment for HZ and PHN. The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of a HZ vaccination program in Germany. An existing Markov Model was adapted to the German healthcare setting to compare a vaccination policy to no vaccination on a lifetime time-horizon, considering 2 scenarios: vaccinating people starting at the age of 50 or at the age of 60 years, from the perspective of the statutory health insurance (SHI) and the societal perspective. According to the perspective, vaccinating 20% of the 60+ German population resulted in 162,713 to 186,732 HZ and 31,657 to 35,793 PHN cases avoided. Corresponding incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were 39,306 €/QALY from the SHI perspective and 37,417 €/QALY from a societal perspective. Results for the 50+ German population ranged from 336,468 to 394,575 HZ and from 48,637 to 56,087 PHN cases avoided from the societal perspective. Corresponding ICER were 39,782 €/QALY from a SHI perspective and 32,848 €/QALY from a societal perspective. Sensitivity analyses showed that results are mainly impacted by discount rates, utility values and use of alternative epidemiological data.The model indicated that a HZ vaccination policy in Germany leads to significant public health benefits and could be a cost-effective intervention. The results were robust and consistent with local and international existing literature.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.