Indeed, the commission evaluates numerous issues, including the specificities of national epidemiology, selleck organizational and legal issues, acceptance or feasibility of different implementation strategies, etc. Once the decisions are made, the recommendations are transmitted directly to the FOPH by the Secretariat, which is a part of FOPH. The recommendations are made public via official publications, the website, and through

press releases. The work of the CFV falls within a national and international context, and brings together numerous partners with the shared objective of improving individual and public health by preventing infectious diseases and their transmission. Responding to this context involves relationships with NITAGs in other countries, although there is no formal mechanism for this. The interactions among the CFV and other NITAGs during WHO conferences, meetings and other forums tend to be informal and personal. Some members of the Swiss committee are click here also members of other committees, but any information they obtain from the other committees falls under the confidentiality requirement of the CFV. Economic considerations have a place in committee deliberations, beginning with the issue of the cost of the vaccine. Economic analysis is done on a case-by-case basis

to assess cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit and cost-utility, as well as the overall affordability next and sustainability of the immunization program. However, there is no benchmarking (i.e., no predefined threshold). The issue of whether or not the vaccine should be reimbursed through social health insurance is also addressed. The committee does not have immediate access to health economics experts, and therefore,

economic analyses consist of approximate estimations, literature reviews, or work outsourced to external companies. The evaluation process takes approximately one year, and decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. When general vaccinations are being considered, the time taken for economic analysis is even longer. The committee uses results from international economic studies but assesses them for possible differences under the Swiss context, as well as for possible differences compared with its own studies. Pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers can also provide economic assessments, but in this case, the committee consults with an independent expert to verify the reliability of their assumptions and calculations. Economic evaluations are used in different ways by the CFV in the decision-making process. For example, if the vaccine’s cost-utility ratio compares favorably with that of other health interventions, it constitutes an additional favorable point in the global evaluation. On the contrary, if the vaccine is considered to be very expensive compared to its benefits, it is unlikely that it will be reimbursed by health insurance.