Influenza is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Influenza vaccination can reduce both health-care costs and productivity losses associated with influenza illness. Substantial health benefits are seen across all age and risk groups. Vaccination improved cost utility with increasing age and among those with chronic medical conditions.

Elderly
Influenza vaccination of persons aged 65 years or older results in an overall societal cost saving and substantial reduction in hospitalization and death.

Healthy adults younger than 65 years
The influenza virus thrives in the typical office environment, and will infect almost one in four people each winter. Each victim will be absent for 3-5 days, and individual productivity can be adversely affected for up to two weeks following an infection.

Influenza costs businesses considerable money each year because of:

• absenteeism, replacement and overtime costs
• interruption of service and, or product delivery
• lost or reduced sales and productivity
• health benefit costs

Each infected employee will pass the virus to coworkers, family members, and their community at large, including vulnerable high risk individuals. Each vaccination dramatically improves anyone's chances for an influenza free winter, and can contribute significant financial savings to participating companies. In working adults vaccination can reduce both direct medical costs and indirect costs from work absenteeism.

Five reasons to provide influenza vaccinations:

1. it reduces the number of episodes of upper respiratory illness by 25 – 34%;
2. it reduces days of sick leave from work due to upper respiratory illness by 32 – 43%;
3. It reduces work absenteeism due to illness by 36%;
4. it reduces physician office visits for upper respiratory illness by 34 – 44%;
5. It reduces antibiotic use for influenza-associated illnesses by 25%.

Cost-effectiveness among healthy persons aged 18 – 64 years, depends on the cost of vaccination, the influenza attack rate, and vaccine effectiveness against influenza-like illness. Vaccination against influenza has substantial health-related and economic benefits for healthy, working adults.

Children
Influenza vaccination has also been associated with significant economic benefits in young adults and children. Vaccinating high risk children produced net savings, regardless of cost of vaccination examined. The number of high-risk children that receive influenza vaccine should be maximized to achieve improved health outcomes as well as cost savings. After being vaccinated during day-care, unvaccinated household contacts had 42% fewer episodes of febrile respiratory illness and parental work loss to care for sick children was reduced by 70% or more.