One reason why contagious vaccines are controversial is that we can’t guarantee that the viruses used to spread these vaccines can’t mutate and jump species. To create contagious vaccines, scientists take antigens (proteins that trigger an immune response) from a microbe and splice them into viruses that naturally infect only one type of animal. By design, this means that they aren’t meant to be able to cross species barriers, but many experts are still against it because we know very little about the disease dynamics of wild animals. Read full article here
Research
Improving media literacy could boost trust towards the news, IMPRESS report suggests
The UK media is regulated by the likes of IPSO and Ofcom. The report by press regulator IMPRESS highlights the link between low levels of media literacy and trust in the news. The study found that three quarters of those who did not know if journalists were regulated did not trust the news. It suggests that improving media literacy is one way to stem the erosion of trust, and shows that audiences have an appetite for information on news processes. Stakeholders need to collaborate in order to rebuild trust in the news, and independent media is well placed to do this. Read full article here
Merv
February 1, 2023
