From 4 August 2025, sexual health clinics in England began offering a free vaccine against gonorrhoea to the people at greatest risk of catching it. The government and NHS call it the first programme of its kind in the world.
Eligible patients include gay and bisexual men who have had multiple recent sexual partners and a bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the previous 12 months. The jab is 4CMenB, a vaccine already used against meningococcal disease that also protects against gonorrhoea. Clinics in every region of England are expected to stock it by 4 September 2025.
The numbers behind it
Diagnoses have reached their highest level since records began. In 2023, England reported a record 85,000 cases, three times the figure for 2012. Antibiotic-resistant strains are also increasing.
The government estimates the programme could avert up to 100,000 cases and save the NHS more than £7.9 million over the next decade. Patients attending for the vaccine will also be offered shots against mpox, hepatitis A and B, and HPV.
What officials said
Public health minister Ashley Dalton called the programme “a major breakthrough in preventing an infection that has reached record levels.” She urged anyone eligible to come forward, “to protect not only yourselves but also your sexual partners.”
Dr Sema Mandal, a consultant epidemiologist at the UK Health Security Agency, said the numbers were “very concerning,” including the antibiotic-resistant cases. Dr Amanda Doyle, the NHS National Director for Primary Care and Community Services, said staff and local authority colleagues had worked hard to hit the ground running.
Richard Angell, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said the charity had asked for this and the government listened. “The roll-out of this vaccine could be a turning point in our fight against rising rates of gonorrhoea,” he said. His worry now is reach: everyone who could benefit needs to know about it.
Dr Will Nutland, director of the Love Tank, said vaccines must reach the groups most affected, including people least likely to visit sexual health services. Charlotte Cooke of the LGBT Foundation said gay, bi and other men who have sex with men are more likely to be affected, and that her organisation wants stigma-free access.
Dr Janet Barter, president of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, said frontline clinicians had seen an extraordinary rise in infections. A vaccine that lowers the rate “should be a real game-changer,” she said.
Anyone who thinks they may be eligible can find a sexual health clinic on the NHS website, which also lists symptoms and treatment. People with questions about their own risk should talk to their doctor.
