The United Kingdom (UK) has recently initiated a significant shift from a focus on treating illness to prioritizing prevention, as part of its Plan for Change aimed at making the NHS fit for the future.
In the UK, people are experiencing more years of ill health, and the disparity in healthy life expectancy between the wealthiest and the poorest is widening.
To better protect those at high risk of gonorrhoea, the NHS and local authorities have begun rolling out a world-first vaccination program in England.
Launched on August 4, 2025, sexual health clinics will offer a free vaccine to individuals with a recent history of multiple sexual partners and a bacterial STI within the past 12 months.
According to the NHS, the 4CMenB (Bexsero®) vaccine is designed to shield those most at risk of gonorrhoea, potentially preventing up to 100,000 cases of the disease and alleviating pressure on essential NHS services.
Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Ashley Dalton, commented in a press release, “Rolling out this world-leading gonorrhoea vaccination programme in sexual health clinics in England represents a breakthrough in preventing an infection that has reached record levels.”
“I strongly encourage anyone eligible to come forward for vaccination, to protect not only yourselves but also your sexual partners.”
The ground-breaking vaccination programme comes at a critical time, with diagnoses of gonorrhoea reaching their highest levels since records began.
In 2023, a record 85,000 cases of gonorrhoea were reported in England, three times higher than in 2012.
This 4CMenB vaccine will protect thousands of people and save the NHS more than £7.9 million over the next decade. It will also help combat increasing levels of antibiotic-resistant strains of the disease.
Eligible patients attending clinics in England for the gonorrhoea vaccine will also be offered mpox (JYNNEOS), hepatitis A and B, and HPV vaccinations, providing comprehensive protection against an array of diseases.
The 4CMenB vaccine is expected to be available in sexual health clinics in every region in England by early September 2025.
In the United States, GSK’s Bexsero® (MenB-4C) vaccine is U.S. FDA-approved and offered at most clinics and pharmacies.