MenB Vaccine Fails to Prevent Gonorrhoea in Major Trial
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- The GoGoVax trial by Griffith University and the Kirby Institute monitored 587 men over two years, finding 291 new gonorrhoea infections in the vaccine group versus 285 in the placebo group — no significant difference
- The NHS began offering the 4CMenB vaccine to gay and bisexual men in August 2025 after earlier studies reported a 38% reduction in gonorrhoea infections among those vaccinated
- The UK Health Security Agency is not recommending immediate changes, with Dr Mary Ramsay noting over 30,000 people in England have already started the vaccination course and that UKHSA's own studies will provide "more robust data"
- Gonorrhoea cases in England peaked at 82,592 in 2022 and, while down to 63,943 in 2025, remain double the 2015 level, with men who have sex with men the most disproportionately affected group
- Dr Odile Harrison of the University of Oxford called the results "disappointing" but stressed that an effective gonorrhoea vaccine remains "a high priority" given rising antimicrobial resistance
- Taku Mukiwa of the Terrence Higgins Trust said the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation should reconsider the programme, adding that condoms and regular testing remain the "cornerstones" of STI prevention
Why it matters: With over 30,000 men in England already enrolled in the MenB vaccination course and gonorrhoea cases still double 2015 levels, the NHS rollout was built on studies showing 38% efficacy that this trial contradicts. Terrence Higgins Trust is already calling for the JCVI to reconsider, while Oxford's Dr Odile Harrison flags antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea as making an effective vaccine a high priority.
