It sounds straightforward enough: a vaccine given to adolescents and young teens that will prevent cancer in adulthood.

Yet Texans aren't getting it — figuratively or literally.

Texas ranks near the bottom in vaccination rates for the cancer-causing human papillomavirus, or HPV. Dallas County's 24 percent rate is among the worst in the nation.

Pediatricians and parents can do something to change those depressingly low numbers. But first, here's more detail about why the shot, which debuted a decade ago, is important.

The HPV vaccine protects against the most common sexually transmitted infection, a virus that 90 percent of men and 85 percent of women in the U.S. contract in their lifetimes. HPV usually isn't serious and resolves itself without symptoms.

But a small percentage of the cases lead to cancer of the cervix, vagina, penis, mouth, throat or tonsils. Texas reported 2,801 cases of HPV-associated cancer between 2009 and 2013.

All boys and girls are recommended to get the multidose vaccine — ideally, between the ages of 11 and 12. Perhaps understandably, that can be a tough sell because of wariness over the HPV vaccine's association with sex.

No, these young people aren't sexually active or even likely to be anytime soon — but someday they will be. The vaccination produces a higher immune response in preteens and young teens than it does in older teens and young adults. That's why it's most important to get vaccinated before age 15.

Studies have shown that girls who received the HPV vaccine are not more likely to become sexually active earlier than those who did not receive the vaccine.

State health officials say they plan to launch a new campaign in 2018 to help correct the misinformation that exists.

"People didn't understand why their children needed this drug when they were still years away from being sexually active. ... It should have been pushed out as an anti-cancer drug," says Walt Orenstein, the former director of the National Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Getting health care professionals to enthusiastically take up the prickly HPV challenge is most important.

A 2014 Harvard-led study determined many physicians were "recommending HPV vaccine inconsistently, behind schedule or without urgency."

Not enough doctors are making a sufficiently strong case to parents to have their children vaccinated, partly because of the perceived difficulties of the conversations, according to numerous studies.

Contrary to what doctors may believe, many parents are interested in the vaccine, and a strong recommendation from a physician correlates highly with youngsters getting the full course of vaccinations. That's the word from Noel Brewer, who does research on immunizations at the University of North Carolina and studies parental and provider attitudes toward HPV.

One Texas doctor who is spreading the right message is Keller pediatrician Jason V. Terk, part of the Cook Children's system: "A simple shot can mean the difference in life and death. Unfortunately, most Texans are not getting the importance of this message."

By the numbers

— 40 percent of women and 26 percent of men in Texas between the ages of 13 and 17 were up-to-date with the HPV vaccine in 2016.

— Dallas County's HPV vaccination rate was only 24 percent.

— Only Wyoming, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah had lower vaccination rates than Texas.

— The national average for HPV vaccination was 43 percent.

— HPV is responsible for 27,000 cancer diagnoses each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

— As of December 2016, about 90 million doses of HPV vaccine have been distributed in the U.S., with no serious concerns reported.

SOURCE: University of Texas System Office of Health Affairs

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