It's a virus that infects 14 million new people each year and causes more than 26,000 new cases of cancer — 17,400 of them in women and 8,800 in men.

Yet far too often in Minnesota and across the nation, a series of shots guarding against the potentially deadly human papilloma virus (HPV) too often goes ungiven. This anticancer vaccine — a lifesaving public health advance — has just been deemed "grossly underutilized" by the respected U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC recently sounded the alarm about disturbingly low utilization rates for the vaccine — distributed under the brand names Gardasil and Cervarix. The vaccine, given in a series of three shots, is recommended for adolescent girls and boys as well as for young adults. It protects against HPV strains that cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and are also linked to head and neck cancers and cancers of both men's and women's genitalia.

The recent announcement by actor Michael Douglas that HPV caused his throat cancer spotlighted the virus's risk and how common it is. HPV is spread by sexual contact. An estimated 79 million Americans are currently infected.

Stunningly, Americans are failing to take advantage of the vaccine, which started being given routinely in 2006 and was recently found to be more effective than health officials had expected in preventing HPV infections. Coverage levels in targeted groups significantly lag those for other routine vaccinations, and are well below the 80 percent level that health officials are aiming for.

New CDC data suggest that only 33 percent of girls had received all three shots in 2012. About 54 percent of girls had received at least one of the shots. (Data are not yet available for boys.)

Even more concerning was health officials' finding that HPV vaccination rates had stalled between 2011 and 2012, and that the coverage rate for those getting all three shots had declined somewhat.

While health officials said doctors need to more strongly recommend the vaccine at office visits, parents also need to make sure their kids get the shots. Misinformation about the shots' safety is spread recklessly by antivaccine activists. There are also fears that getting the shot causes kids to become sexually promiscuous — a myth not only rebutted by a 2012 study but also by common sense. Having seat belts and air bags doesn't cause people to drive recklessly. Nor do HPV shots cause kids to throw caution to the wind.

The HPV vaccine is an opportunity to prevent cancer. Failing to use it irresponsibly puts the health of future generations at risk.