Providers of medical care might score the risk of illness somewhat higher than the public because they would be knowledgeable about the consequences of asymptomatic infection and shedding. Providers probably would score severity lower, however, because they should be less affected by recent media attention concerning the social consequences of genital HSV. The benefits of vaccination probably would be rated as moderate by providers for similar reasons. Barriers perceived by providers with the glycoprotein vaccine would be fairly low, mostly relating to a disinclination on the part of some providers to deal with sexually transmitted diseases. Barriers to the use of a live vaccine would include concern over potential oncogenicity, probably not fully dispelled by licensure testing. The barriers score for the live vaccine is thus moderate.

The scope and purpose of the calculations included below are described in Chapters 4 and 7. These calculations are based on certain simplifying procedures and assumptions that have been judged not to compromise their utility for the purposes of this comparison. The total costs should be taken only as an approximation of the direct cost of this disease.