3 ms·

Get vaccinated.

• fred_is_fred 10y ago
  A fair point but keep in mind that for a long time the vaccine was considered to be only for girls/women, at least in the US.
  • woofyman 10y ago
    That doesn't prevent your doctor from prescribing it off label. It wouldn't be covered by insurance. I received it off label and the shingles vaccine off label.
  • DrScump 10y ago
    They were the primary target market; I don't think treatments were ever limited to females.
• tedsanders 10y ago
  ...if you expect to have new future partners and if you expect that you haven't been infected much already. This is why insurance companies don't cover the costs beyond a certain age, I believe.
  • seanp2k2 10y ago
    Why not instead test for it, and vaccinate those without it? Would getting vaccinated for it if you have some strain even hurt? Why not vaccinate everyone, then?
    • tedsanders 10y ago
      Good questions. My non-expert understanding of the situation is: (1) There are no great tests for it. (For women, pap smears can detect pre-cancerous growths, but don't generally test asymptomatic infection or identify the strain, I think. And there is no available test for men. More specialized testing does exist, and is used in medical studies, but is not available to the public. I'm not sure of their cost or accuracy.) (2) Vaccinations are expensive. (I think on the order of a few hundred dollars, not even counting patient time.)