HPV Vaccine Effective In Some Ways After Only 2 Doses
By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Most of us have heard about the HPV vaccine and health professionals are well aware that the CDC recommends that all young women receive a 3-vaccine series against HPV, also known as the human papillomavirus.
The goal is to protect against both genital warts and cervical cancer, which are caused by the virus.
It is too early to change recommendations but a Swedish study has found that it might take only 2 doses of the vaccine to offer protection against genital warts.
The study looked at 1 million women, some of whom were never vaccinated and others who received 1, 2, or all 3 doses of the vaccine. Though previous studies measured immune response against the virus with different doses of vaccine, this is the first study that tracked the number of doses correlated with development of genital warts.
So should you only get two doses? The authors of the study in JAMA say it is way too early to make changes because they are not sure if just two doses protects against cervical cancer.