Table 1 A case study of COVID-19 vaccination at a health clinic in Kenya illustrating the potential differences between financial and economic costs
From: What are economic costs and when should they be used in health economic studies?
Resource example | Financial costs | Economic cost |
|---|---|---|
Healthcare personnel | There would be no financial costs related to using the existing healthcare personnel associated with COVID-19 vaccine delivery as they are already receiving a salary | There would be an economic cost associated with having the existing healthcare personnel spend time on COVID-19 vaccine delivery—as they could have used their time on another healthcare program/activity or have more breaks/leisure time |
Use of physical space at the health clinic (such as beds or booths used for the vaccine administration) | There would be no financial cost to the COVID-19 vaccination program associated with using the space at the health clinic | There would be an economic cost associated with the time the space is used at the health clinic for COVID-19 vaccine delivery—as the space could have been used for another healthcare program/activities |
A subsidised vaccine | The financial cost associated with the COVID-19 vaccines would be valued based on the negotiated price that the government paid for them | The economic cost associated with the COVID-19 vaccines would be based on their market price in the country setting (i.e. Kenya) |