MenB vaccine offers men no protection from gonorrhoea, study says
The UK Health Safety Agency said it was not making any changes at this time.
Dr Mary Ramsay, director of public health programs at UKHSA England, said it was “important to consider a range of evidence”.
“More than 30,000 people in the UK have started this vaccination process and this will provide more robust data on the impact and effectiveness of the vaccine. These findings will be published in due course.”
Gonorrhea cases remain at record levels compared to 10 years ago.
In the UK, it peaked in 2022 with 82,592. The numbers have since fallen to 63,943 in 2025, but are still double what they were in 2015.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, men who have sex with men are disproportionately the most affected group.
Dr. is an associate professor at the University of Oxford’s Population Health Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit. Odile Harrison said the results were “disappointing” but should not be seen as the end of the search for a vaccine.
“Gonorrhea remains a major global public health threat, particularly as antimicrobial resistance continues to emerge, and an effective vaccine remains a high priority,” he said.
Taku Mukiwa, head of health programs at sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust, said the results were disappointing and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) should reassess the vaccine programme.
“If the evidence has changed, the approach must also change.”
“Gonorrhea rates are very high in the UK, and this is particularly true among gay and bisexual men, and we are seeing more antibiotic-resistant forms of the infection.
“What we know for sure is that condoms and regular testing remain the cornerstones of preventing and stopping the spread of STIs, and we must continue to work to reduce the stubbornly high rates of STIs in this country,” he added.
