Mpox and gonorrhoea vaccination programme details: 2025

Vaccines for both the mpox and gonorrhoea NHS vaccination programmes will be supplied by UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) in line with other routine vaccination programmes (excluding flu and COVID-19) and ordering will be via the Immform platform. Vaccination Programme Wales will notify sexual health clinics directly as soon as vaccine for the gonorrhoea programme is available to order; the mpox vaccine should continue to be ordered as required.

The only licensed 4-component vaccine (4CMenB) for the gonorrhoea prevention programme currently available in the UK is Bexsero® which is manufactured by GSK. This vaccine is currently used as part of the childhood immunisation schedule for protection against group B meningococcal (MenB) disease. As protection against gonorrhoea is not currently a licensed indication for 4CMenB vaccine, the vaccine will be used off-label, administered under patient group directions or an appropriate legal framework.

When ordering 4CMenB (Bexsero) for this programme care should be used to ensure orders are placed against the correct product code for the gonorrhoea vaccination programme, which is separate from the infant MenB programme, to ensure appropriate stock allocation and data collection. Any requests for amendments to accounts able to order this product should be directed to VPW.Enquiries@wales.nhs.uk.

The mpox vaccination programme will use the smallpox vaccine Imvanex®, Modified Vaccinia Ankara - Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN). Imvanex® will be available in 10 dose packs once the current 20 dose pack supply is exhausted. It is important to note that once thawed and stored in standard refrigeration the shelf-life is limited to 8 weeks. If stored in a freezer at -20°C the vaccine retains a longer shelf-life.

Sexual health clinics and health boards must ensure that all vaccines are received, stored, prepared and subsequently transported (where appropriate) in accordance with the relevant manufacturers, and local health board guidance and all associated standard operating procedures. In the case of the mpox vaccine, health boards should refer to their local procedures for receiving frozen vaccines.

Additional funding has been agreed to support the deployment of mpox and gonorrhoea vaccination programmes through sexual health services, the details of which will be sent to health board finance directors in due course.

Invoices for the vaccine supply used in both programmes will be managed by Welsh Government, and health boards should utilise the correct Immform SKU (stock keeping unit) to enable this process.

Welsh national PGD links and supporting content will be available via the Welsh Medicines Advice Service prior to the commencement of the programmes, and should be authorised by the health board for local use.

The Green Book, “Immunisation against infectious disease” provides guidance to healthcare practitioners on immunisation. The chapter for mpox will be updated and the chapter for gonorrhoea will be published ready for the implementation of the routine programmes. They can be found at Green Book Chapter 29 Smallpox and monkeypox Immunisation against infectious disease on Gov.UK.

Healthcare practitioner information and guidance to support the implementation of a routine mpox and gonorrhoea programme, including training slide sets, will be available here on Public Health Wales' Vaccine resources for health and social care professionals.

New and updated public information will be available online at Public Health Wales' Immunisation and Vaccines page.

New and updated healthcare professional information will be available online at Public Health Wales' A to Z list of vaccinations for health and social care professionals page.

Resources will be available to order from Public Health Wales' Health Information Resources page.

Both vaccines can clinically be co-administered before, at the same time as, or after other vaccines currently offered in sexual health clinics (including but not limited to hepatitis A, hepatitis B and human papillomavirus). There are no restrictions on time intervals between these different vaccines (refer to relevant Green Book chapters). The vaccines should be given at a separate site, preferably in a separate arm.

Co-administering vaccines in a timely manner when an eligible individual is present in the clinic will avoid any delay in protection and reduce the risk of the patient not returning for a later appointment. If the patient declines the offer of multiple vaccinations at one appointment, UKHSA guidance on how the vaccines should be prioritised will be made available to sexual health services.

Some eligible individuals may be identified in GP surgeries. Those identified in GP surgeries would be signposted to sexual health services to administer the vaccination.

Eligible individuals who are detained in Welsh prisons should be offered vaccination through the sexual health service provision, in line with the local health board arrangements for each prison’s healthcare.

Public Health Wales is developing a social media toolkit on vaccinations available through sexual health services that can be shared with GBMSM networks and organisations, and via health board’s local sexual health channels, as well as materials to publicise the programmes at events including Pride. This will build on materials already developed as part of the mpox outbreak response.

Public Health Wales will lead surveillance and monitoring of the mpox and gonorrhoea immunisation programmes in Wales. Vaccinations administered in sexual health clinics should be coded in the electronic patient management systems used locally. These data are collated as part of the Sexual Health in Wales Surveillance Scheme (SWS). To support delivery of both programmes, Public Health Wales will provide quarterly surveillance reports based on data reported to SWS.