MenB Vaccine Fails to Protect Against Gonorrhoea, Landmark Australian Trial Reveals

MenB Vaccine Shows No Effect Against Gonorrhoea in Groundbreaking Trial

The Meningitis B vaccine does not provide meaningful protection against gonorrhoea infections, according to a significant new study — raising serious questions about its continued use as a preventative tool for at-risk populations.

The National Health Service in the UK began offering the vaccine to men who have sex with men in August 2025, following earlier research that suggested it could reduce gonorrhoea infections by as much as 38%. However, those findings are now being called into question.

What the GoGoVax Trial Found

A clinical trial conducted by the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, has delivered a sobering verdict: the MenB vaccine appears to be ineffective at preventing gonorrhoea.

The trial, known as GoGoVax, followed 587 men over a two-year period. Participants were divided into two groups — one receiving the actual MenB vaccine and the other receiving a placebo. The results revealed virtually no difference in new gonorrhoea infection rates between the two groups. Those who received the vaccine recorded 291 new infections, while those given the placebo recorded 285 — a negligible difference that offers no statistical basis for effectiveness.

The study's authors noted that their findings aligned with two additional independent studies, and argued that when viewed collectively, the evidence provides "strong support that the MenB vaccine is not effective for gonorrhoea prevention."

How the MenB Vaccine Became a Gonorrhoea Candidate

The 4CMenB vaccine was originally developed to protect infants against meningitis B. However, because the bacteria responsible for meningitis B and gonorrhoea are closely related — both belonging to the Neisseria family — researchers theorised the vaccine might offer cross-protection against gonorrhoea as well.

Early observational studies appeared to support this idea, prompting health authorities in multiple countries to explore its potential as a gonorrhoea prevention tool. In the UK, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) greenlit its use for gay and bisexual men, a demographic disproportionately affected by the infection.

UK Health Authorities Hold Their Position — For Now

Despite the concerning new data, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has stated it will not be making any immediate changes to its vaccination programme.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Director of Public Health Programmes at the UKHSA, acknowledged the study but stressed the importance of drawing on a broad evidence base before revising policy.

"Over 30,000 people in England have already begun this vaccination course, and this data will provide more robust insight into vaccine impact and effectiveness," she said. "These findings will be published in due course."

The agency maintains that its own domestic studies will yield more comprehensive results and is monitoring the situation closely.

Gonorrhoea Rates Remain Alarmingly High

The urgency surrounding gonorrhoea prevention cannot be overstated. Infection rates in England reached a record high of 82,592 cases in 2022. While numbers have since declined to approximately 63,943 in 2025, they remain more than double the figures recorded a decade ago in 2015.

Gonorrhoea is a bacterial sexually transmitted infection spread through sexual contact. Symptoms can include pain, unusual genital discharge, and inflammation — though a significant proportion of those infected experience no symptoms at all, making undetected transmission a major public health concern.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, men who have sex with men remain the group most disproportionately affected by gonorrhoea across Europe.

Adding further complexity to the situation is the growing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant strains of the infection, which are making treatment increasingly difficult.

Experts Call for a Reassessment

Public health specialists and sexual health advocates have responded to the findings with a mixture of disappointment and urgency.

Dr Odile Harrison, Associate Professor at the University of Oxford's Population Health Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit, described the results as "disappointing" but cautioned against abandoning the search for a viable gonorrhoea vaccine altogether.

"Gonorrhoea remains a major global public health threat, particularly in light of the continued emergence of antimicrobial resistance," she said. "An effective vaccine remains a high priority."

Taku Mukiwa, Head of Health Programmes at sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, called on the JCVI to urgently reconsider the existing vaccination programme in light of the new evidence.

"If the evidence has changed, the approach has to change too," he said. "Rates of gonorrhoea in the UK are sky high — and this is especially true among gay and bisexual men."

Mukiwa also emphasised that regardless of how the vaccine debate unfolds, proven preventative measures must remain front and centre.

"What we know for certain is that condoms and regular STI testing remain the cornerstones of prevention. We must continue working to bring down the stubbornly high rates of sexually transmitted infections in this country."

What Comes Next?

The debate around MenB's role in gonorrhoea prevention is far from over. The UKHSA's ongoing domestic studies may yet produce findings that challenge or nuance the Australian trial's conclusions. However, the GoGoVax results — particularly when combined with two corroborating studies — have undeniably shifted the scientific conversation.

For now, individuals are strongly encouraged to rely on condoms and regular sexual health screenings as the most reliable tools for preventing the spread of gonorrhoea and other STIs.