Sexual health services across the UK will roll out a ‘world-first’ gonorrhoea vaccine programme to eligible patients from early August.
NHS England announced today that the existing vaccine for meningococcal B disease, 4CMenB, will be offered to gay and bisexual men who have a recent history of multiple sexual partners or a STI.
According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which is supporting NHSE with the rollout, the vaccine could offer protection of up to 40% for eligible patients.
Analysis by Imperial College London has indicated that high uptake of the 4CMenB vaccine could avert up to 100,000 cases of gonorrhoea and save the NHS over £7.9m over the next 10 years.
The vaccine programme has been set up in response to increasing levels of antibiotic resistant strains of the disease.
In 2023, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended an NHS vaccination programme for prevention of gonorrhoea as diagnoses reached a record high of 85,000.
Those eligible for the vaccine will also be offered mpox, Hepatitis A and B, and HPV vaccinations when attending their appointments at local authority-commissioned sexual health services.
NHS England’s primary care and community services director Dr Amanda Doyle said NHS teams across the country are now ‘working hard to plan the rollout’.
‘The launch of a world-first routine vaccination for gonorrhoea is a huge step forward for sexual health and will be crucial in protecting individuals, helping to prevent the spread of infection and reduce the rising rates of antibiotic resistant strains of the bacteria,’ she added.
Minister for public health and prevention Ashley Dalton said the Government ‘inherited gonorrhoea diagnoses at record levels’ after years of ‘neglect of public health services’.
She continued: ‘By targeting those most at risk, we can reduce transmission rates from this unpleasant disease that is becoming harder to treat and prevent thousands of cases over the next few years.’
Dr Sema Mandal, consultant epidemiologist and deputy director at the UKHSA, said the vaccination programme will ‘make the UK the first country in the world to offer this protection’.
She said: ‘This vaccination programme is a hugely welcome intervention at a time when we’re seeing very concerning levels of gonorrhoea, including antibiotic resistant gonorrhoea. In 2023 we saw gonorrhoea diagnoses reach their highest since records began in 1918.’
The UKHSA recently warned of increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections, along with worrying rises in infectious diseases such as measles and whooping cough since the pandemic.
Last year, public health experts called for more investment into sexual health services after figures showed concerning rises in gonorrhoea and syphilis in England.
The Government has since uplifted funding for public health services in England by nearly £200m.
