26 February 26

Ending HIV

Search for gonorrhoea vax continues

An Australian trial into a potential gonorrhoea vaccine has just been published, and unfortunately, it’s not good news. The results found that the vaccine is ineffective at preventing gonorrhoea.

The GoGoVax trial

‘GoGoVax’ was a trial to assess whether the vaccine 4CMenB (currently used to prevent meningococcal B) could be used to prevent gonorrhoea among gay and bi+ men. It was carried out by Griffith University and the Kirby Institute, at sexual health services in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

What are the results?

The GoGoVax trial found that 4CMenB is not effective at preventing gonorrhoea for gay and bi+ men. This follows a similar trial carried out in France (DOXYVAC), which showed no effect of the vaccine on gonorrhoea infections.

There was hope that we would see similar effectiveness with this that we saw with the mpox vaccine. We also want to reinforce that 4CMenB is a very safe and effective vaccine for preventing meningococcal disease. However, it has had no impact on gonorrhoea infections.

Although this is disappointing news, trials like these are important steps in getting closer to finding new and effective STI prevention methods for our community. We’ll keep you updated when new research emerges.

So, how do you protect yourself from gonorrhoea?

In the meantime, there are ways gay and bi+ guys can protect themselves from gonorrhoea. Condoms are a cheap and easy method to help reduce the risk of getting gonorrhoea. Getting tested for STIs regularly is another way to help stop the spread of gonorrhoea in the community.

Use our where to get tested tool to find your local testing site and book your next screen.

Note: Doxy-PEP is not recommended for protection from gonorrhoea as it is not very effective. It is however, much more effective at preventing syphilis and chlamydia. You can read more about Doxy-PEP here.

Learn more about gonorrhoea and how to protect yourself here.

What if I was part of the study?

If you participated in the GoGoVax study, the coordinator will receive an email with the results of the GoGoVax study. If you have not already, you option to receive the follow-up injections to reduce your risk of meningococcal.

We’d also like to thank all those who participated in this important study.

What does this mean for countries already offering the vaccine for gonorrhoea?

It’s true that countries like the UK have been using 4CMenB for gonorrhoea. It is likely that these countries will be reconsidered and no longer recommended for use for gonorrhoea. This would have no bearing on its use for other purposes such as its initial purpose of meningococcal B.