What is ring vaccination and when is it used?

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Ring vaccination targets immunizing the people most likely to be infected next—the contacts of a confirmed case and the contacts of those contacts—to create a protective barrier that interrupts transmission around each case. This approach is particularly efficient when vaccine supplies are limited or when a rapid containment of an outbreak is needed, because it focuses on those at highest risk rather than vaccinating the entire population. It relies on swift case finding and contact tracing so vaccination can be given promptly, ideally soon after exposure.

Historically, this strategy was central to smallpox management, where quickly identifying cases and vaccinating their surrounding network helped stop chains of transmission and contributed to eradication.

Mass vaccination or vaccinating only healthcare workers don’t address the immediate transmission network around a case, and vaccination is not never used in outbreak management—outbreak control often relies on strategies like ring vaccination to efficiently protect those most at risk.