The HPV vaccine: why get vaccinated after treatment?

This lesson is part of the WARTES HPV Masterclass. Preview: the first part of the narration.

Many of my patients who have had wart treatment ask me: "Doctor, I have already had HPV. What will the vaccine give me?" That is a very good question. Let's look at the answer together. The 9-valent HPV vaccine helps your immune system make protective antibodies against the virus.

These antibodies attach to viruses outside the cells, and stop them from entering new cells. But there is one important detail: the vaccine cannot reach the virus that is already inside a cell. So the vaccine is not a medicine that treats HPV.

Then why? Because the virus does not only pass from one person to another. It can also be carried from one area of your own skin to another.

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