Estimated financial cost of materials per vaccine dose (syringes, needles, safety box) (in USD)

If procuring through UNICEF SD: a box of 100 AD syringes with needles (0.5 ml) is priced at approximately $4.50, equating to $0.045 per syringe with needle; a box of 25 safety boxes (each with a 5-liter capacity) for about $20.26, resulting in approximately $0.81 per safety box. Each 5-liter safety box can hold around 100 syringes, leading to a disposal cost of approximately $0.008 per syringe. ,  

Syringe price per dose is estimated to be equal for both the maternal vaccine and the infant mAb. The safety box price per dose is also estimated to be the same between both products.  The incremental cost to the healthcare system is estimated to be US$ 0.74 in LICs and US$ 2.02 in MICs. 

Sources

  • UNICEF (2024). Standard costs of fully vaccinating a child. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund (https://www.unicef.org/media/161751/file/Standard%20costs%20of%20fully%20vaccinating%20a%20child_UNICEF_2024.pdf, accessed 20 June 2025).

  •  UNICEF (2025). AD syringe with needle [website]. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund (https://supply.unicef.org/s0002016.html?utm, accessed 20 June 2025).

  • UNICEF (2025). Safety boxes [website]. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund (https://supply.unicef.org/s0782208.html?utm, accessed 20 June 2025).

  • Mahmud S, Baral R, Sanderson C, Pecenka C, et al. (2023). Cost-effectiveness of pharmaceutical strategies to prevent respiratory syncytial virus disease in young children: a decision-support model for use in low-income and middle-income countries. BMC Med. 21(1). doi:10.1186/s12916-023-02827-5.