Study: HHS’s COVID vaccine campaign saved $732 billion in averted infections, costs

The US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’s) COVID-19 vaccination campaign saved $732 billion by averting illness and related costs during the Delta and Omicron variant waves, with a return of nearly $90 for every dollar spent, estimates a study by HHS and the research firm Fors Marsh. The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. In April 2021, HHS launched its “We Can Do This” public education campaign to boost US COVID-19 vaccine uptake, especially among high-risk populations and those reluctant to receive the vaccine. The push, one of the largest of its kind in US history, aimed to reach 90% of adults at least once per quarter, with more than 7,000 television, digital, print, and radio ads in 14 languages. The study authors used weekly media market data, information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and survey data on the drive’s effects on vaccination...