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The UK Health Security Agency has said it will publish “more robust data” on the effectiveness of the meningitis B vaccine in preventing gonorrhoea infections after researchers in Australia claimed it does not reduce the risk of infection.

During the study by Griffith University and the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, which was published yesterday, half of the 587 men who have sex with men who took part were given a meningitis B vaccine and half were given a placebo.

All participants were recently diagnosed with gonorrhoea or infectious syphilis and had either tested negative for HIV, were receiving HIV preexposure prophylaxis or were living with the virus.

They were monitored between July 2021 and May 2023 and the results showed a similar level of new gonorrhoea infections in both groups.

“The incidence of N. gonorrhoeae infection was 48.1 events per 100 person-years (160 events among 296 participants) in the 4CMenB group and 47.8 events per 100 person-years (155 events among 291 participants) in the placebo group,” the study said.

The trial, called GoGoVax, concluded the meningitis B vaccine “did not result in a lower incidence” of gonorrhoea infection than placebo.

The meningitis B vaccine is available on the NHS for men who have sex with men and are at higher risk of gonorrhoea infection. On its website, the NHS says “the MenB vaccine for gonorrhoea can help protect against catching gonorrhoea and help to stop it spreading”.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) told Independent Community Pharmacist (ICP) it “considers a range of evidence” when “estimating vaccine impact”. 

The UKHSA’s director public health programmes Dr Mary Ramsay said: “The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation considered a number of studies which estimated around 30 to 40 per cent protection against gonorrhoea for at least four years after vaccination, when advising the world-first national gonorrhoea vaccination programme in England.

“Over 30,000 people in England have started this course of vaccination, and this will provide more robust data on vaccine impact and effectiveness. These findings will be published in due course.”

ICP understands the UKHSA is working with sexual health services in England to collect data on the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing gonorrhoea infection.

However, the UKHSA did not say if current guidance that the vaccine can help protect against catching gonorrhoea will be changed in light of the Australians study’s findings. ICP has also contacted NHS England for a response.

The study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine and was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and GSK.