Though it has been several years since the pandemic, researchers are discovering its ongoing impacts on society. A recent report highlights the economic impact of the COVID-19 vaccine and what spillover immunity means for local economies. Spillover immunity is the concept of one persons immunity or vaccination status have a positive impact on another by reducing transmission of pathogens, according to National Public Radio.

The spillover effects from an individual getting the vaccine can indirectly benefit other household members and even positively boost the economy, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine.

When families are healthy, they are able to spend money eating out at restaurants, shopping or traveling, all economic sectors that took a hit during the pandemic, associate professor of risk and insurance Dan Sacks said.

“The availability of vaccines persuaded many countries and local governments to lift restrictions on social distancing,” Sacks said.

These changes on restrictions allowed people to resume economic activities, allowing industries that struggled during the pandemic to recover.

It was argued for many years that it is almost as important to consider indirect factors of vaccines than it is to consider direct impacts of vaccines, according to professor of  infectious diseases and global pediatrics Dr. James Conway. 

Though the economic benefits following the vaccine rollout are significant, Sacks said they are not enough to make up for the losses experienced during the pandemic.

“I think we see a kind of return to trajectories but the lost economic output, and human joy of that time, it’s just gone,” Sacks said. 

Vaccines produce two kinds of significant benefits. They are highly important to health and safety but for economic and social cases as well, according to Sacks.

Because of positive impacts seen from the COVID vaccine, it is important for the government and other companies to subsidize the development of new vaccines and make cost benefit calculations for future vaccines in order to be able to reap the broader benefits, according to Sacks. 

Vaccines differ from other medical treatments because they are able to provide benefits for everyone in the form of reduced contamination and economic stimulation, according to Sacks.

“You can reduce the number of outbreaks in households, schools or workplaces, and now you’re getting value added,” Conway said.

Conway added that vaccines reduce disruption costs, increase productivity and improve economic stability.

According to Conway, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts analyses on all vaccines it evaluates. Depending on how indirect impacts are defined, vaccines can appear extremely cost-effective because of their economic effects, he said.

“Generalizing is difficult, but for the flu in particular there is a good reason to think you would get similar protective benefits,” Sacks said. 

Despite the COVID-19 vaccine and flu shot being different — but both highly contagious — there are similarities between the two when it comes to protection and economic impact, according to Sacks.

While government regulations for the flu shot remain the same, it is harder to receive the COVID vaccine now because of restrictions on eligibility and distribution, according to the CDC.

“It might not seem like a big difference, but when a community moves from 80% to 90% vaccine coverage, you’re doubling the impact of protection … that’s where you start preventing outbreaks altogether,” Conway said.

Fewer people contract COVID than the flu. Chances of dying from either disease are unlikely, though chances of dying from COVID are higher than chances of dying from the flu, according to Sacks.

By vaccinating younger people, there is a reduction of hospitalization among adults over 65, minimizing absenteeism all around, another indirect effect, according to Sacks.

It is still unclear whether less access to the COVID vaccine will lead to big economic consequences, according to Sacks.

Vaccine coverage not only impacts individuals, but also households and communities as a whole, emphasizing the importance of continuing to develop and administer vaccines, according to Conway.

There is good evidence that shows that similar protective benefits apply to the flu. When healthcare workers get the flu shot their patients are less likely to become sick as a result of being infected with a strain of the flu, according to Sacks.

Changes in policy and directives make it hard to predict future patterns and findings, meaning lots more research needs to be done, according to Sacks.

“The first vaccines had more components, which meant more side effects,” Conway said. “… Now we’re getting better at narrowing in on what works, using less material and still providing strong protection.”