Gonorrhea vaccine roll-out starts in UK

Gonorrhea vaccines will be widely available from today in sexual health clinics across the UK, which are in dialect to deal with the record-breaking levels of infections.

Jabs will be introduced to the first highest -risk people – mostly gay and bisexual men who have history of many sexual partners or sexually transmitted infections.

NHS England says roll out is a world-first, and predicts that it can stop 100,000 cases, potentially saving NHS about £ 8 meters in the next decade.

Terence Higgins Trust, Who Campaign for vaccine To be introduced in the UK, it was told to the BBC that it was “a very big win” for sexual health.

Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection transmitted through unsafe sex.

Symptoms may include pain, abnormal discharge, inflammation of genitals and infertility, but in some cases it may have no symptoms.

NHS says This can be avoided By proper use of condoms and if offered, by accepting the vaccine.

Doctors Getting worried fast Regarding the number of infections, and hopefully the vaccine, which is 30-40% effective, will also help slowly Increasing number of antibiotic-resistant cases.

The vaccine, known as 4cmenb vaccine, was designed to prevent meningitis B in infants, but the bacteria caused by two diseases are so close that Jab is also effective against Gonoria.

Gonorrhea had more than 85,000 cases in 2023 – the most since the record started about 100 years ago.

One of the diagnosed people was Joy Knock, who says the transition gave him diarrhea, felt “erased” and stopped work to recover.

He told BBC News: “I discussed it with my friends and I definitely had bad symptoms. [than them] With this.

“I really felt bad, I could not keep the food down and I felt that I ran down completely.”

Because he has many sexual companions, 35 -year -old decided to pay a private pharmacy for Gonoria vaccination before traveling abroad in February 2024.

He paid £ 220 and said he was happy that he did so.

“It helps to know what I am controlling my sexual health and what I can do to stay safe and practice safe sex and I am very concerned about the severity of symptoms,” they say.

Joy says that he uses the safety that provides the vaccine with other methods of safe sex, including taking prep, a drug that helps prevent HIV, and doxiped – to prevent bacterial STIs taken after sex after antibiotics, not widely available on NHS.

He says that he also uses condoms sometimes – but sees the vaccine as an additional tool so that to keep him safe in situations where he or his partner does not want to use them.

Since vaccination, Joy has been re -infected with gonorrhea, but says that the symptoms were very less severe.

He told the BBC: “I am able to get with my day and it has just become more manageable, and regularly being tested and knowing my body really also helps.”

A 63 -year -old Mathew from Eastern Scotland was detected 10 years ago and was known as a reaction Reactive arthritis – Excessive pain in your joints is due to reaction to your body infection.

He told the BBC that the experience, which had caused permanent harm to some of his fingers and toes, was so painful that it scared him again and affected his mental health.

He says: “I am constantly looking for symptoms and I know about it constantly, and I feel that I used to do this in the 1980s when I was constantly frying about HIV.

“I will get some kind of cough and think ‘Oh my God, what’s happening?” ,

He is expecting one of the first people to receive the vaccine to give himself and his sexual partners more protection.

“You are not just protecting yourself, you are protecting your colleagues.

“I think it will also relieve some burden on sexual health services, it is difficult to get appointments, so if it can work to reduce STI events then I think it is really worth it.”

Richard Angel, chief executive of a major sexual health donation Terence Higgins Trust, reported that the BBC the vaccine was “a notable additional for our toolkit on sexual health”.

NHS National Director Dr. for primary care and community services. Amanda Doyle said that it was important that “everyone proposes through sexual health services” to protect each other “.

“This is a real step for sexual health,” he said.

People who can be eligible for vaccine are being asked to contact Their local sexual health clinic For more information.