What I would pay to end Coronavirus

What do you want to do when this is all over? My friend - I'll call him "James" - just really wants to go on a 'bender' with a big group of mates. Interesting priorities.

I'd love to be able to see and hug our wider family; to let the kids see their fabulous grandparents. I would like to scatter my grandfather's ashes. To have old friends from London come and stay with us. For our children to have birthday parties again.

I understand, accept, and fully support the restrictions, but I'd definitely be willing to pay to get back to some sense of "normality". Vaccines, and possibly eventually treatments, may offer us a way back - but what are they worth?

Over Christmas, my wife and I contracted Covid-19. It was a pretty miserable few weeks being ill with three small children to look after. But we were lucky - we recovered fully and quickly. I'd still have paid quite a lot to avoid not only being sick, but reducing the risk of more serious or long term effects.

Last May, I lost my grandfather to coronavirus. His death has broken my grandmother and exacerbated her dementia. I would pay to avoid both their pain and suffering.

 And like most families, we're enduring another period of homeschooling. Whilst I may now know a lot about fronted adverbials, the impact on our children's social, emotional and educational development is high.

I'm fairly sure most parents would pay to get kids back in school.

So yeah, adding it all up, I'd pay quite a lot.

Willingness to pay doesn't mean you have to pay. Matt Hancock isn't going to come round to your house rattling his tin asking for your contribution. But understanding what we value and how much we value it helps prioritise spending and agree on fair prices.

Tell me in the comments what you'd be willing to pay and whether we should consider these broader elements in evaluating new treatments.

You may have been even more affected by Coronavirus. Maybe you've been shielding for much of it. You may have lost your job or been furloughed due to the pandemic. Your mental health may have been badly affected by the restrictions on everyday life, or perhaps diagnosis or treatment of another condition has been delayed or prevented.

Prices for the Covid-19 vaccines released to date are low. Some manufacturers are promising not to make any profit at all. Given the range and scale of the impact caused by Covid-19, they offer phenomenal value.

Yet, for those of you who aren't involved in health economics, you may be surprised to learn that these broader aspects of value are not typically considered when countries decide whether and how much to pay for new medicines and treatments.

The basic argument, in the UK at least, for having a narrow focus on the costs and benefits that accrue to the health system is because the costs of drugs come out of the health budget.

Why should the health system pay more for a drug, all things equal, because it may get a child back in full-time education quickly?

Even though it may lead to lost revenue from direct and indirect taxes, sick pay and potential losses in informal care if replaced by public services the productivity impacts of, for example, vaccine-preventable diseases aren't considered when assessing the value of vaccines.

There are lots of other examples. Head over to our website to learn more.

There is an active debate on what we are willing to pay for and how much we're willing to pay for it. But I believe that one takeaway from the pandemic will be a greater understanding of how our health is connected to our wider social and economic prosperity.

Perhaps it's time to connect the dots, and maybe it's time to ask the public what they think as well.