The world’s first Gonorrhea vaccine will be administered by the National Health Service in England. The vaccine will be available to those with a history of multiple sexual partners or those with a diagnosed STI in the past 12 months. According to BBC, the vaccine is 30-40% effective, but as the number of infections in the country climbs, the NHS hopes transmission will decrease with more vaccinations.
The BBC reports there were over 85,000 cases of gonorrhea in 2023 and that It is one of the most common STI’s. Despite the hopes of the NHS, the choice to get vaccinated is still up to the public. However, current projections from the Imperial College London indicate that if the vaccination is well received, it could potentially prevent 100,000 cases, saving the NHS close to £8 million over the next 10 years.
One sexual health campaigner told BBC Newsbeat, he would “‘100%’ take the vaccine after being diagnosed with gonorrhea twice within a year.” Starting this month, sexual health clinics are offering free vaccination to high risk patients, according to the U.K. government’s official website.
“Rolling out this world-leading gonorrhea vaccination program in sexual health clinics in England represents a major breakthrough in preventing an infection that has reached record levels,” said Ashley Dalton, Minister for Public Health and Prevention.
“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. I strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to come forward for vaccination, to protect not only yourselves but also your sexual partners,” she continued.
The vaccine roll-out is part of the U.K. government’s larger initiative to keep the public healthier through prevention and community-based programs. This also includes the Department of Health and Social Care’s national HIV Prevention England program, which sees £1.5 million in funding per year from the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Zooming out further, these programs are also part of a larger 10 Year Health Plan which hopes to accomplish three central objectives for change: hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. Subsequently, the gonorrhea vaccine hopes to reduce hospital service demand and prevent sickness before it happens.
Debates over the vaccine’s effectiveness are ongoing, but doctors report gonorrhea is becoming more difficult to treat, and with the infection’s bacteria constantly evolving it may become more antibiotic resistant as time goes on, potentially becoming untreatable down the line.
