Sexual health clinics begin offering free gonorrhoea vaccination service

Sexual health clinics across England will today begin offering a free, ‘world-first’ gonorrhoea vaccination service to patients at highest risk of the sexually transmitted infection (STI).

The 4CMenB vaccine – which is the existing vaccine for meningococcal disease but also helps protect against gonorrhoea – is expected to be available in sexual health clinics in every region by 4 September.

The government has suggested the new programme will protect ‘thousands of people’ and save the NHS over £7.9m over the next decade.

The move hopes to help tackle rising rates of STIs and antibiotic resistance and comes as a record high number of cases was recorded in 2023 – with 85,000 cases reported in England, three times higher than in 2012.

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Free vaccination will be available to specific high-risk groups, including gay and bisexual men with recent histories of multiple sexual partners and individuals who have tested positive for a bacterial STI in the last 12 months.

According to NHS England, increased access to the vaccine could help prevent up to 100,000 cases of gonorrhoea across the country.

Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have also confirmed plans to launch similar vaccination programmes that will also target the most affected populations from this summer.

A ‘major breakthrough’

Minister for public health and prevention, Ashley Dalton, said the roll-out would be a ‘major breakthrough’ in targeting record levels of infection.

‘This government’s world-first vaccination programme will help turn the tide on infections, as well as tackling head-on the growing threat of antibiotic resistance,’ she said.

‘I strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to come forward for vaccination, to protect not only yourselves but also your sexual partners.’

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The rollout is part of the government’s move from sickness to prevention and to deliver more care in the community.

Dr Amanda Doyle, NHS national director for primary care and community services, described the vaccination programme as a ‘real step-forward’ for sexual health.

‘This vaccine is already used to protect against Men B and is proven to be effective against gonorrhoea, preventing the spread of infection and reducing the rising rates of antibiotic-resistant strains,’ she said.

‘That is why it is so important that everyone eligible takes up the offer through sexual health services alongside existing jabs for mpox, Hep A & B, and HPV, helping ensure we keep each other safe.’

Eligible patients who attend clinics for the gonorrhoea vaccine will also be offered mpox, hepatitis A and B and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations.

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The government is also pushing for increased uptake of other vaccines including the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV vaccine) which protects infants and older adults against the potentially deadly disease. 

In May, a report from the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) urged the government to reverse the ‘substantial and damaging’ decline in school nurse numbers to help better protect the sexual health of young people.