Meningitis B Vaccine Did Not Cut Gonorrhoea Risk in Randomised Trial, Study Finds

The GoGoVax trial found that the four-component meningococcal B vaccine gave no significant protection against gonorrhoea, contradicting earlier observational data that had raised hopes.

A randomised controlled trial published by the New England Journal of Medicine has found that the four-component meningococcal B vaccine — known as 4CMenB and sold in the UK as Bexsero — did not reduce the rate of gonorrhoea infection compared with a placebo. The findings challenge observational evidence that had suggested the vaccine might offer cross-protection against Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium that causes gonorrhoea.

The trial, called GoGoVax, used the gold-standard method in medical research: participants were randomly assigned to receive either the vaccine or a placebo, meaning neither group knew which they had been given. According to the NEJM, that design rules out the kind of selection bias that can skew observational studies, making the negative result here more definitive than previous hopeful signals had implied.

Gonorrhoea is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in England. Public Health campaigns have flagged rising antibiotic resistance in N. Gonorrhoeae as a concern, making the search for a preventive vaccine a public health priority — which is why the earlier observational findings attracted such attention.

The GoGoVax result doesn’t close the door entirely on vaccine-based prevention. But it does mean 4CMenB cannot currently be recommended as a gonorrhoea prevention tool.

Anyone concerned about gonorrhoea or other STIs can get tested confidentially through their local sexual health clinic or by contacting NHS 111. Testing is free on the NHS. If you’re unsure where your nearest clinic is, NHS 111 can direct you.