“I’m not sexually active, so I don’t fine the HPV vaccine necessary at the moment.” – Female, 22

“Why would you need this if you’re planning only to have sex after marriage?” – Female, 24

The best time to get the vaccine is actually before you become sexually active. That way, it can protect you against many cancer-causing types of HPV before you can be exposed to them.

Even if you choose not to have sex, your partner may have been previously exposed to the virus. Some women have never been sexually active with anyone until they married and years after they were married, they developed cervical cancer. This is probably because their husband had been exposed but was not aware of it. Since you can’t tell if someone else has been exposed or not, the best thing you can to do to protect yourself is to get vaccinated!

To find out where you can get the HPV vaccine, click here: https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdph/supp_info/clinical_health/hpv-vaccine-is-cancer-prevention.html

Remember, if you are 18 years or old, you do NOT need a parent’s permission to get the vaccine.

For more information about HPV, click here: http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/hpv-vaccine.html