World-first vaccine programme to prevent gonorrhoea

Source: NHS England, 21 May 2025

Thousands of eligible people, which includes gay and bisexual men who have a recent history of multiple sexual partners or a bacterial STI, will start to be offered an existing meningococcal vaccine – 4CMenB – through local authority-commissioned sexual health services from early August.

It comes after the government accepted the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) advice for an NHS roll out of the vaccine amid a record high 85,000 gonorrhoea diagnoses in England in 2023 – three times higher than in 2012.

People who receive the jab will benefit from increased protection from gonorrhoea, with the programme helping to tackle growing levels of antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacteria which causes gonorrhoea, according to evidence submitted to the JCVI. UKHSA is supporting NHS England with the programme’s rollout.

Analysis led by Imperial College London has suggested the 4CMenB vaccine could avert up to 100,000 cases of gonorrhoea and save the NHS over £7.9 million over the next decade, if high uptake is achieved and an ongoing programme is confirmed.

Local providers will identify and contact those eligible through sexual health services, with vaccinations starting from early August.

Eligible people will also be offered mpox, hepatitis A and B and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations when attending their appointment for the gonorrhoea vaccine.