Patrick Chimuanya Etus1, Micheal Abimbola Oladosu2*, Moses Adondua Abah3, Okabeonye Sunday Agbo4, Oluwatobi Adetunji Abe5 , Bukola Oluwaseyi Olufosoye6 and Chineye Cynthia Udeh7

 1Department of Graduate Business Studies, Faculty of Business, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio, USA.

2Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Anchor University, Lagos, Nigeria.

3Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Federal University of Wukari, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria

4Department of Applied Biology and Biotechnology, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Agbani, Nigeria.

5Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Anchor University, Lagos, Nigeria.

6Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences. Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria

7Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

() Corresponding Author:

Received: Apr 29, 2026/ Revised: May 28 2026/Accepted: June 4, 2026

Highlights

  • Reviews immunisation strategies and herd immunity in controlling communicable diseases.
  • Evaluates the effectiveness of traditional and emerging vaccine platforms, including mRNA vaccines.
  • Examines global vaccination coverage trends and herd immunity thresholds.
  • Identifies barriers such as vaccine hesitancy, inequitable access, and pandemic-related disruptions.
  • Highlights evidence-based approaches for strengthening vaccination programs and public health preparedness.

Abstract

Immunisation remains one of the most cost-effective public health interventions for the prevention and control of communicable diseases. The concept of herd immunity, wherein a sufficiently immunised population confers indirect protection to susceptible individuals, underpins global vaccination strategies. This review examines immunisation strategies across a spectrum of vaccine platforms, including live-attenuated, inactivated, subunit, viral vector, and messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, in relation to achieving herd immunity thresholds (HITs) for key communicable diseases. We evaluate global immunisation coverage trends from 2019 to 2024, assess barriers such as vaccine hesitancy, inequitable access, and pandemic-related disruptions, and discuss evidence-based strategies to overcome them. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed both the remarkable capacity for rapid vaccine development and critical vulnerabilities in global immunisation systems. Current data indicate that routine immunisation coverage has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with measles coverage at 83% globally in 2023, below the 95% target. Emerging platforms, particularly mRNA technology, offer transformative potential for future pandemic preparedness. Achieving herd immunity at the population scale requires sustained commitment to equitable vaccine distribution, robust surveillance, community engagement, and the mitigation of vaccine hesitancy through evidence-based communication.

Keywords: herd immunity; immunization; vaccine hesitancy; mRNA vaccines; communicable disease; vaccination coverage; public health

How to cite this article

Etsu, P. C., Oladosu, M. A., Abah, M. A., Agbo, O. S., Abe, O. A., Olufosoye, B. O., & Udeh, C. C. (2026). Immunisation strategies and herd immunity in the prevention and control of communicable diseases. Science Archives, 7(2), 260–269. https://doi.org/10.47587/SA.2026.7223

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

 

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