COVID-19 vaccination campaigns saved Canada billions of dollars, report estimates

Canada was spared the loss of billions of dollars by COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, according to the C.D. Howe Institute.

A new report authored by institute policy analysts Rosalie Wyonch and Tingting Zhang offers projections of what could have happened had the federal government not pursued and pushed vaccines.

The report states that vaccines were "highly effective at reducing COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths."

"Estimates suggest 21 per cent fewer cases, 37 per cent fewer hospitalizations and 34,900 fewer deaths (from January 2021 to May 2022)," Wyonch and Zhang say.

"The direct cost of vaccine administration compared to the savings associated with averting missed work and treatment costs due to illness indicates an estimated net cost/benefit of –$0.4 billion to $2.1 billion.

"Using the statistical value of life, the estimated lives saved are valued at an additional $27.6 billion.

"In addition, vaccination allowed for a reduction in many preventative public health measures that disrupted the social and economic lives of Canadians."

The pair say a six-month delay of access to vaccines and the continuation of public health restrictions "would have led to economic losses equivalent to about 12.5 per cent of GDP, or about $156 billion in economic activity in 2021."

The full report can be found here.