ODU'S PROFESSORS DISCUSS HPV VACCINE ON "WITH GOOD REASON" TODAY

Yvette Pearson, assistant professor in the department of philosophy and religious studies, and Kimberly Adams Tufts, associate professor of nursing, will be guests this week on the "With Good Reason" radio program to discuss the health facts and ethical concerns behind the Commonwealth of Virginia's Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine mandate for sixth grade girls.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. The CDC reports that studies have found the vaccine to be almost 100 percent effective in preventing diseases, cervical cancer being one, caused by four types of the virus. In October 2007, several campus organizations and departments at Old Dominion University held a panel discussion to debate whether girls as young as 11 years old should be required by the government to have the HPV vaccination, or if parents should make the decision. Pearson participated on this panel.

"With Good Reason" is produced for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and is broadcast in partnership with public radio stations in Virginia and Washington, D.C. The program will be broadcast on WHRV (89.5 FM) this Thursday, Jan. 10, at 1:30 p.m. or may be heard at www.withgoodreasonradio.org.