I'm protected from many strains of HPV with the Gardasil vaccine but I have two partners who do not have the vaccine. How likely/possible is it that I could pass HPV on my skin to partner #2 if partner #2 got infected?

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Home / Answered Questions / I’m protected from many strains of HPV with the Gardasil vaccine but I have two partners who do not have the vaccine. How likely/possible is it that I could pass HPV on my skin to partner #2 if partner #2 got infected?

I’m protected from many strains of HPV with the Gardasil vaccine but I have two partners who do not have the vaccine. How likely/possible is it that I could pass HPV on my skin to partner #2 if partner #2 got infected?

Hi there

Gardasil is not a live virus vaccine and it does not contain any HPV virus. So, you do not get HPV from the vaccine and you do not shed the virus on your skin because you were vaccinated.

It is possible to have any one of the four HPV strains in your body before you were vaccinated. The vaccine does not clear those types already in your body, and you may pass them on to a partner.

Other types of HPV are not included in Gardasil, and they can also be passed through skin-to-skin contact.

Although condoms do not cover all skin areas, they still provide some protection when used.

Please leave a comment to let us know if that 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 September 29, 2013.

This answer was updated on February 7, 2022.