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What are the death rates from the flu every year? How many man hours and how much does that cost? If public health was the real concern behind this, why is it with something that has a much smaller impact than the flu?

The difference is dramatic. Because the influenza virus evolves so rapidly, the entire population would need to be vaccinated against the flu each year for a mass flu vaccination program to be effective. That's simply not practical. If one day vaccine production and distribution methods were to improve dramatically, then maybe I'd change my position. Regarding the HPV vaccine, just three injections will confer lifetime immunity for HPV. You don't have to immunize the entire population -- just get girls in early adolescence (say, age 12 for instance) and eventually cervical cancer will be almost entirely eliminated from humanity.

Very true. Also the flu vaccines are only a best guess as to which strains of the flu will be circulating in any given year. An important distinction with regard to the HPV vaccine where they know the problematic strains.

Annual deaths from cervical cancer (both HPV and non HPV)
3500

Annual flu deaths
36000

Flu is a tricker bug, but the vaccine is cheaper. You need a different shot every year, but the savings in lost time from work is enormous. That is why many workplaces give free shots.

We don't know how effective the HPV vaccine is long term, because there hasn't been enough time to do the studies. We do know that it doesn't protect against many strains of HPV, and that in some people it doesn't work. They push is to vaccinate the girls at age 9 or younger, when the studies that are completed show that the immunity is gone at times with in 9 years. So, at age 18, when all the free love experts say they should be boinking like rabbits, the immunity will be decreased or gone. I haven't seen the numbers for adverse reactions, and they will be some. One of the reasons that few companies make vaccines any more is that there is a few people who will get sick and die from an allergic reaction to a vaccine. I hope the good leader of Texas has realized that he just opened a liability can of worms.

I expect to see an increase in cervical cancer rates in a few years because women will no longer go to doctor for yearly pap smears, since they figure they have been vaccinated.