On November 27th, “the 5th China Health Economics Development Forum and the 4th Health and Medical Big Data Forum” (hereafter referred to as the “Forum”) was held online. The paper Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Free Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccination Policy for the Elderly: A Real-World Study in Yinzhou District by Professor Lijing Yan’s team at the Global Health Research Center of Duke Kunshan University was awarded the first prize for excellent papers at the forum.

At the meeting, Xian Zhang, the first author of the paper and a research fellow at the Global Health Research Center of Duke Kunshan University, shared research results showing that both free trivalent influenza and quadrivalent vaccination programs for older adults are cost-effective in Yinzhou District, compared with a no-policy scenario. They found that quadrivalent vaccination programs are cost-effective for trivalent influenza.
Using Yinzhou district as a case study, this research applied real-world data from Yinzhou Health Information System to a real-world program for older adults subsidized by the local government in 2020. The study used parameters collected from literature and estimated from Yinzhou Health Information System to generate evidence to inform influenza vaccination policy and practice. The research results were further translated into real-world policy advice: we should promote a free influenza vaccination policy for older adults.
The research team members included Professor Lijing Yan, Xian Zhang, Xinyue Ji, Rundong Hu, Kehan Su, and other researchers from collaborating units at the Global Health Research Center of Duke Kunshan University.