The vaccine for human papillomavirus, or HPV, is given to prevent a sexually transmitted infection that can cause cancer.

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A month after a study found the HPV vaccine is surprisingly effective for preventing cervical cancer, federal health officials say too few preteens are getting it.

In 84% of cases in which girls were not vaccinated for HPV, the most commonly sexually transmitted infection, the girls had received another kind of vaccine during a doctor's visit, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Had those girls had the HPV vaccine, more than 9 in 10 adolescents would have received at least one of the three doses needed to build the required immunity to prevent more than 50,000 ...