The Chlamydia vaccine showed promising results in an early-stage clinical trial conducted by researchers in the U.K. and Denmark.
The early phase of the research found the experimental vaccine to be safe. The study was conducted from 2020 through 2022 with individuals split between non-pregnant women and men, while none had chlamydia. The researchers examined and tested various dosages of the vaccine, they noted reported in The Lancet Infectious Diseases on Thursday.
Participants got the vaccine or a placebo during the four-month period of testing.
Researchers noted that 154 participants were screened, 65 randomly assigned while 60 finished the trial.
Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can cause infections among men and women. The disease can permanently damage women’s reproductive system and make pregnancies difficult or sometimes impossible, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
No vaccine is currently available to protect against the disease, an infection reported in over 1,6 million cases in the country in 2022, according to the CDC.
During the trial, participants also got the vaccine through eye drops a part of getting the shot in the arm. Phase 2 trial will look at the effectiveness of the shot.
The next phase still has to answer questions, especially with the research being in its infancy.
“Does it confer the ability to hold off infection with chlamydia?” Dr. Hilary Reno, a professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, told NBC News.
“If you do have an infection, does it mean you’re more likely to have an asymptomatic infection,” Reno, who is also a medical director of the St. Louis County Sexual Health Clinic, said.
“We don’t know that and that’s what the next phase of studies would be,” Reno said.
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