SarahBell Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22335511 "The Department of Health said the vaccination programme would cost about £25m a year in England but would save the NHS about £20m a year in fewer hospital stays, doctors appointments and prescriptions. A Department of Health spokesman said: "Shingles can be a nasty disease for older people and can lead to long-term health problems for around 14,000 people each year." So spending 5k a year more than the costs of the problem is a good idea? From September, those aged 70 and 79 in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be invited to take up the vaccination. ""Not only suffering and some deaths but also all the costs of hospitalisation, not to mention all the inconvenience, people taking time off work to look after their children and so on and so forth."" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuG III Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Dont you mean £5million? And I think you may be missing the point of a healthcare system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erat_forte Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Dont you mean £5million? And I think you may be missing the point of a healthcare system. Indeed, shut all hospitals, pay for no vaccinations, save billions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Save me from the madness! Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 How much does sick pay for people with Shingles cost the wider economy though, I suspect this vacination would make financial sense from the full total costs point of view Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Does this work full stop ? Or like other vaccines there are many strains and it only works for some ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuG III Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Indeed, shut all hospitals, pay for no vaccinations, save billions. We should just melt people down when they get a cold. Mmmmm... soylent green! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 Dont you mean £5million? And I think you may be missing the point of a healthcare system. I did. If the costs of treating something cost less than preventing it then something does need to be done. Why does the vaccination program cost so much? 800,000 vaccines cost 25M? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debtlessmanc Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Does this work full stop ? Or like other vaccines there are many strains and it only works for some ? I wondered this and looked at wikipedia, apparently it is not terribly affective, the best solution is that people are periodically exposed to young kids with chicken pox as this boosts the immune system against the virus. In the states were inoculation against chicken pox is widespread for kids, there has been a huge surge in shingles case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porca misèria Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I did. If the costs of treating something cost less than preventing it then something does need to be done. Why does the vaccination program cost so much? 800,000 vaccines cost 25M? £31.25 a jab doesn't sound like much. Just off the top of my head: Staff costs for nurse. Staff costs for receptionist. Staff costs for administrators. Land costs for premises. Maintenance costs (including staff) for premises. Drugs costs. Support for those patients who need extra help due to disability. Tax on all the above costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eight Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 £31.25 a jab doesn't sound like much. Just off the top of my head: Staff costs for nurse. Staff costs for receptionist. Staff costs for administrators. Land costs for premises. Maintenance costs (including staff) for premises. Drugs costs. Support for those patients who need extra help due to disability. Tax on all the above costs. You missed off profit, although I accept that will be included in "drugs costs". My daughter had scarlet fever last year, which was pretty nasty but which is not routinely vaccinated for. Where do we draw the line? I'm very wary of medicalising what might, for want of better words, be a childhood "rite of passage". Another example - she properly grazed her knee on Friday, for the first time in her life. She's nearly five. I think when I was that age mine were nearly down to the bone, permanently. What resistance to infection had I picked up in the process that she has, again for want of better words, missed out on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I had Shingles aged 32. Wasn't much fun at all - nearly went blind. Glad you didn't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Doctor said that it would probably be my masturbation that would send me blind. Probably best not to do it whilst he is watching then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I wondered this and looked at wikipedia, apparently it is not terribly affective, the best solution is that people are periodically exposed to young kids with chicken pox as this boosts the immune system against the virus. In the states were inoculation against chicken pox is widespread for kids, there has been a huge surge in shingles case. Older people tend to get rather a lot of exposure to young kids anyway ? Is this a 'solution' to a problem that doesn't really exist ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuG III Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I did. If the costs of treating something cost less than preventing it then something does need to be done. Why does the vaccination program cost so much? 800,000 vaccines cost 25M? Palliative care costs the country £billions a year with no return at all. Should we just execute anyone old or with a terminal illness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidg Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I had Shingles aged 32. Wasn't much fun at all - nearly went blind. Same here, brought on by nagging girlfriend and stress from work. Absolutely awful disease, ended up in hospital. You can easily go blind as it destroys nerves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheBlueCat Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Does this work full stop ? Or like other vaccines there are many strains and it only works for some ? Article says 50% effective. Having seen just how nasty shingles can be though, I think it's definitely money well spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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