The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the age range for people who can now get the vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV).

Gardasil, which prevents cervical and other cancers, was previously only allowed for children and adults between the ages of 9 and 26. But on Monday, the FDA has raised the age approval to 45.

According to the CDC, every year about 14 million Americans become infected with HPV which is a sexually transmitted disease. Among those infected, about 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 4,000 women die from cancers caused by the virus.

HPV viruses are also associated with several other forms of cancer affecting men and women, including throat, mouth and anal cancers.

Dr. Darron Brown, an infectious disease specialist with IU Health, says every American under the age of 45 should get the HPV vaccine.

“This is a cancer-preventing vaccine. It’s been studied in over 40 different safety studies. It is considered one of the safest vaccines ever made and it’s one of the most effective vaccines ever made,” according to Dr. Brown.

“It’s predicted in the next four to five years there’s going to be more cancer deaths from HPV-associated cancers in men than there are in women,” says Dr. Brown.

The FDA approved the original vaccine Gardasil in 2006. It was discontinued in the U.S. and replaced by Gardasil 9, which was approved in 2014.