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Home / Answered Questions / I’d like to note the following for this website: http://smartsexresource.com/ask-us/questions/i-just-got-my-last-shot-gardasil-how-long-does-it-take there is a statement saying that it’s still important to go to get PAP smears if you hadn’t been vaccinated before having sexual contact; however, not all cervical cancers are caused by the strains of HPV that Gardasil protects against; I would therefore recommend rephrasing that sentence.

I’d like to note the following for this website: http://smartsexresource.com/ask-us/questions/i-just-got-my-last-shot-gardasil-how-long-does-it-takethere is a statement saying that it’s still important to go to get PAP smears if you hadn’t been vaccinated before having sexual contact; however, not all cervical cancers are caused by the strains of HPV that Gardasil protects against; I would therefore recommend rephrasing that sentence.

Hi

Is this the statement you were referring to in the question you linked to?

“It is important to remember that if you had one of the four strains of HPV before you got Gardasil, the vaccine will not eliminate that virus from your body. That is why it is important to continue to get regular PAP tests.”

Let us know if that is the statement that is confusing.

It is important for women to get regular PAP tests once they become sexually active because the HPV vaccine protects against most but not all cancers of the cervix.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

For other readers, please feel free to leave a comment, or let us know if this was helpful.

This answer was posted on January 12, 2016.