Landmark gonorrhoea vaccination programme announced in England

21 May 2025 (Last updated: 21 May 2025 08:51)

Today, NHS England has announced the rollout of the world’s first routine gonorrhoea vaccination programme, following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Starting in August 2025, eligible individuals will be offered the 4CMenB vaccine through local authority-commissioned sexual health services.

Responding to the announcement, Professor Matt Phillips, BASHH President, said:

“This is excellent news and a landmark moment for sexual health in England. A new gonorrhoea vaccination programme — alongside continued rollout of mpox vaccination — forms a vital part of our efforts to address the significant inequalities we are seeing in sexual health outcomes. Gonorrhoea diagnoses are at their highest since records began and this has the potential to help us to turn that around.

To make the most of this opportunity, we must now work together to ensure these programmes form part of a wider, joined-up response to improving sexual health and wellbeing in the UK. BASHH, alongside partners, continue to call for a strategy for embedding equitable, accessible, and expert sexual healthcare for all those who need it — now and into the future.”

Access the NHS England announcement here