ArticleBMC health services research2025
Costs of delivering COVID-19 vaccine in Botswana during the height of the pandemic: a retrospective study.
Article in BMC health services research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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.
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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
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- The cost of delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Mozambique: a bottom-up costing study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Costs of the COVID-19 vaccination programme: estimates from the West Rand district of South Africa, 2021/2022.BMC health services research · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe development, distribution and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines following the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic in February 2020 is the largest global immunization action in history. To assist with planning and resource mobilization efforts, a global-level model was used to estimate expected COVID-19 vaccine delivery costs employing data from the literature on childhood and adult flu vaccine delivery. However, country-level studies were needed to validate these estimates, learn lessons for future pandemics, and plan for forthcoming COVID-19 vaccination of priority groups.
methodsWe tested several methodological innovations to estimate total costs and costs per dose of COVID-19 vaccine delivery in Botswana. Costs incurred by all government sectors, parastatals, donors, and non-governmental organizations were included. Both fiscal costs (financial outlays) and the value of selected, existing human resources and donated vaccines (economic costs) were included.
resultsFiscal delivery costs of COVID-19 vaccination were estimated at US$49.8 million for a 13-month period, with over half accounting for newly hired human resources. Newly hired staff supported not just vaccine delivery, but also co-ordination and social mobilization efforts. The value of existing human resources deployed to support COVID-19 vaccination was US$36.6 million. Based on 2.6 million doses delivered, the fiscal and economic delivery cost per dose was US$19 and US$33, respectively. Vaccines were procured and donated at an average price per dose of US$13.46, increasing the economic cost per dose delivered to approximately US$47.
conclusionsIn Botswana, costs were substantially higher than modelled estimates for COVID-19 vaccine delivery and the costs of delivering routine childhood vaccines. This suggests that rolling out a new vaccine to an entire population in the middle of a pandemic requires additional financial investments beyond what has been typical for immunization services in the past.
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