On 4 August 2025, the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) began the roll-out of the world’s first gonorrhea vaccination programme. Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is often asymptomatic but can be characterised by unusual discharge from the penis or vagina and pain when urinating. Gay and bisexual men with a recent history of multiple sexual partners or bacterial STIs in the past 12 months are now eligible for a free vaccine.
The vaccine, 4CMenB, is already being used to protect against meningitis B. According to the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care, offering it to vulnerable populations will protect 100,000 people from the gonorrhea infection over the next decade, relieving pressure on the NHS’s sexual health services and saving an estimated £7.9 million ($10.5 million).
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In 2023, recorded cases of gonorrhea reached an all-time peak in the UK with 85,000 diagnoses — three times higher than in 2012, emphasising the rapid growth in incidence, according to the UK Health Security Agency. Gonorrhea is treated with an antibiotic injection, which typically relieves symptoms in a few days. However, antibiotic-resistant strains have begun to emerge, meaning that rollout of the vaccine has come at a crucial time.
According to the UK’s Minister for Public Health, Ashley Dalton: “Rolling out this world-leading gonorrhea vaccination programme in sexual health clinics in England represents a major breakthrough in preventing an infection that has reached record levels. 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.”
Physicians need to emphasise that while vulnerable populations, such as gay and bisexual men, are being encouraged to seek vaccination, these groups should be reminded that precautions such as condoms should still be used to prevent the transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases.
GlobalData epidemiologists initially anticipated that the diagnosed incident cases of gonorrhea among men and women of all ages in the UK would increase from 96,000 in 2025 to 99,000 in 2033. However, if a significant proportion of the vulnerable population receives the vaccination, it is expected that diagnosed incident cases will decline, benefiting patient outcomes, NHS spending and the prevention of antibiotic resistance.
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By GlobalData