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Comment by arjie | Hacker News Reader

It is actually not straightforward to do. Safeway Pharmacy refused to actually give me the vaccine when I showed up saying I'm not in a group that's eligible. One Medical told me that it would be a $400/shot 3-shot regimen. I'll probably just travel to India some time to visit family and get Cervavac there instead of Gardasil here. It's about $20/shot.

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The Walgreens pharmacist scolded my 35 year old girlfriend for getting it, saying that it was useless at her age. She insisted and he reluctantly administered the first dose (and later got the rest at another location). He even questioned her motives for getting it once she was in the room. I was appalled by the whole interaction.

Maybe I could have understood if I had said she was my wife. But it is still stupid to assume that there will be no other sexual partners ever again in her life.

With the prevalence of HPV, it's likely that we have one or more strains already, but who knows. Maybe the strain of a future partner is what will trigger cancer.

If anyone here can enlighten me about the pharmacist's attitude, I would be grateful.

I got vaccinated way before I met her, and even as a male I didn't get any comments from the pharmacists that gave me the shots.

Gotta love the logic of telling adults not to get the vaccine because its probably too late and you're already infected, while also telling parents not to give it to their kids because it's only for "prostitutes and promiscuous gay men" (per RFK)

> it's only for "prostitutes and promiscuous gay men" (per RFK)

It’s almost as though he has had a brain injury.

I believe you are referring to comments made about the hepatitis B vaccine, not HPV.

That's right; that particular HHS Secretary comment was about Hepatitis B.

> "“Hepatitis B vaccine was made for prostitutes and for promiscuous gay men,” Kennedy said in an interview on his Children’s Health Defense show in 2022."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/06/25/rfk-jr-vacc...

The WaPo article doesn't bother to refute RFK's lies, but here's /r/medicine responding to them (in the context that's topical this week—RFK ordering the removal of the Hepatitis B vaccine from the children's schedule):

> "Let's be even more clear about this. If you contract Hep B in the first year of life, more than 90% develop the chronic form, and the need for liver transplant is much higher.... Worldwide, the second most common route for children under 5 to catch HBV is from other children, and that's not by doing IV drugs or having sex. (First most common is vertical, through mother.)"

https://old.reddit.com/r/medicine/comments/1niml9d/kennedys_...

Even if you're married, you might not be married forever, could be in an open relationship, or a partner may cheat. None of which is the pharmacist's business.

MY partner also had a hard time getting it, at the age of 26. I also had a hard time getting it, at age 26.

People read the recommendation guideline, and brainlessly follow it without care of why it's in place. If you haven't had a reason to be exposed by 30, 30 is as good of a time to get the shot as 9.

One of the few times I can say the majority of medical practitioners don't know what they are talking about when they spit dogma instead of life-saving sense.

I think it’s more that people judge and then look at the guidelines and get even more judgey and feel justified in doing so.

HPV is approved up to age 45 with “shared clinical decision making”. Above age 26 it may be more difficult without a clinician due to unimportant bullshit. Try a Planned Parenthood.

PP is where we managed to do it. Anyone who hasn't had the Gardesil-9 — which actively targets cancerous strains — please don't hesitate. It's byad.

I'm 44 and didn't catch any gruff from the staff. I'd complain to the head pharmacist.

Depending on the state you’re in, you likely have to get a prescription from a doctor, not a pharmacist, due to the wording of the law.

Simplest route would be to call your primary doctor and ask if they can give it to you at your next annual checkup.

My Dr doesn't give me stuff. But that's only because I'm one of the millions of Americans who has no healthcare beyond what can paid out of my pocket. Not his fault.

Maybe try Planned Parenthood, they do stuff like this.

Surely he can give you a prescription.

He could but then I'd still need to pay for the vaccine - which is the issue. Specifically, I would be adding the vaccine onto the long, long list of medical stuff (vaccines, tests, procedures) that I need to buy if the funds ever come available.

as far as I can tell, pharmacists cannot give vaccines off-label (this is an issue for the new covid guidelines and some states fell back to an Rx if no longer eligible for the covid booster).

Your PCP may give a vaccine off-label though, which is how I got my Shingrix, though I had to pay out of pocket.

What’s the procedure of getting Cervavac in india?

You can pretty much walk into any decent clinic and just ask for one.

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