Vaccination take-up and health: Evidence from a flu vaccination program for the elderly

Arbeitspapier

We analyze the effects of a vaccination program providing free flu vaccine to individuals aged 65 or more on take-up and hospitalization. By using linked patient-general practitioner (GP) data, we implement a regression discontinuity design around the threshold at age 65. We find that the program increases vaccination take-up by 6 percentage points, which corresponds to 75% of the take-up for non-eligible individuals, and reduces the probability of hospitalization by about 44%. We show that the effect on take-up is not entirely due to an income channel, and that the effect on health is mainly driven by patients with higher-quality GPs and emergency hospitalizations.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Working Paper ; No. 82

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health Behavior ; Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health ; Demographic Economics: General
• Subject: vaccination ; influenza ; public health ; health prevention policies

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Brilli, Ylenia ; Lucifora, Claudio ; Russo, Antonio ; Tonello, Marco
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza (DISCE)
• (where): Milano
• (when): 2019

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/202856
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET