Vaccines recommended in the categories 1, 2, and 3 are also assessed to determine the public health interest of their integration into the Health Care Benefits Ordinance (Article 12) (vaccines targeting travelers are not considered). Such a request for integration would then be evaluated by appropriate independent commissions (see below). The commission obtains technical data and expertise for deliberation from a variety of sources, including official commission members, national reference centers such as the national influenza center or the influenza working

group, check details and invited national ad hoc experts. Use is made of WHO position papers, as well as national position statements and information found on websites, such as the European Centre for Disease Surveillance and Control (ECDC) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Recommendations from other NITAGs such as the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are taken into account. Working groups set up by the commission are a preferred source of information and expertise (Table 2), some of which are permanent, while others are set up for a specific period of time. They provide a foundation for decisions in adherence with the analytical framework (see above). Membership in a working group is voluntary and is decided upon by the commission members; any commission member

can chair and participate in a working group. External experts can be invited to join as well. People from the pharmaceutical medroxyprogesterone industry may Pifithrin �� be consulted but they cannot participate in a working group. The working group creates a basic document that functions as a strategic pre-position statement. It is then circulated among the membership of the commission. Members can ask questions and give feedback, after which the document is presented in a plenary meeting. The Secretariat verifies the references

used, as well as independence of the work. In making its assessments, the commission considers the following vaccine-preventable outcomes, which are ranked in order of descending importance: mortality, hospitalizations, overall morbidity, epidemic potential, and equity and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) or quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost. Disease burden is an evaluated criterion for each vaccine, but there are no predefined limits on criteria. The criteria are ad hoc, and are made according to the disease and on the synthesis of all available data. A vaccine is recommended only if its benefits, in terms of morbidity and mortality (diseases and their complications), are significantly greater than the risk of it causing adverse effects. Recommendations are usually decided upon by open vote, but occasionally a secret vote may be held. If experts do not agree on issues, they are resolved on a case-by-case basis.