Will the HPV vaccine work if the virus is dormant and the test results were negative for it?

Question

I have been doing a lot of reading on the HPV virus and vaccine and recently one of my friends was diagnosed with it. I went for my annual and my results were normal. I heard that HPV can lay dormant in the body up to 10 years and her doctor told her that the vaccine would still work if the virus was dormant and you have not been diagnosed. Does anyone know if this is true? I am married and monogamous but also paranoid and thinking about getting the shot for my safety. It has been approved for women 9 - 26 so I only have a year left to get the shots.

Answer 1

It's actually a good idea to get the vaccine, even for women who have HPV. Many doctors and even Merck (the company who manufacturers the vaccine) recommends women with HPV to get the vaccine. It won't get rid of the virus but it might prevent them from getting any of the 4 strains it protects against. The vaccine targets 4 strains of the virus (2 that can cause cervical cancer and 2 that can cause genital warts). Most women do not have all 4 of those strains so if they get the vaccine it can protect them from any of those 4 they don't have.

I have had HPV for over 5 years. I got cervical cancer from it when I was just 17 and I got genital warts from it about 8 months ago. I still plan on getting the vaccine.

Answer 2

Go get the shot.
If your test was negative, then you have a higher probability of it being negative.
And yes, the vaccine may in fact work for those that are already infected, because they may have only a very weak strain, not the important ones that need to be protected against.

Answer 3

Yes.
The vaccine is for people who don't have HPV.