Rotavirus-associated hospitalization and emergency department costs and rotavirus vaccine program impact

Highlights • Economic burden of rotavirus medical visits has been estimated by indirect measures. • Indirect measures led to uncertainty of the true medical cost of rotavirus disease. • This study used direct methods to identify children with rotavirus medical visits. • This study found high medical costs prior to rotavirus vaccine licensure in the US. • This study found a dramatic decline in costs after introduction of rotavirus vaccines.