I recently went on a date with a woman, and when the STD talk came up, she told me that she was HPV positive. I know it’s very common, extremely common, but I don’t know that I have it, and I’m wondering if I should be starting something with someone that definitely knows she has it.

Additionally, I am over 45 and have not been vaccinated. The vaccine is not recommended over that age as the duration that it takes to get cancer is a few years and the chance of previous exposure is higher, so it’s not recommended, however, I still hopefully have decades of life left, maybe 40 years, so why not get the vaccine? I understand it’s self-pay at that point. Any thoughts on this?