COMMENT: Hey Martin
Right here within the UK there’s a concern marketing campaign being waged in regards to the rise in meningitis. Miraculously they’ve the vaccine prepared to save lots of us all!!
Do you consider this may very well be one other C19?
REPLY: What’s going down within the UK proper now with meningitis is being introduced within the press with the identical tone we noticed throughout COVID, but if you strip away the headlines and really have a look at the info, the story turns into very totally different as a result of this isn’t a nationwide disaster however a localized outbreak being framed in a method that amplifies notion past statistical actuality.
The outbreak has been centered in Kent and largely tied to a college and a nightclub occasion, with roughly 27 to 31 whole instances and two deaths reported, and whereas officers have described the clustering as uncommon, the broader context is that the UK sometimes data ongoing instances annually with England reporting roughly 378 instances within the 2024 to 2025 interval, which means it is a recognized bacterial illness slightly than something new or rising.
What is definitely occurring is a localized outbreak of meningococcal illness, primarily the MenB pressure, which has existed for many years and tends to unfold in close-contact environments. It isn’t airborne in the way in which respiratory viruses are, however as an alternative spreads by means of direct contact. Regardless of that, the response has begun to comply with a well-known sample the place authorities contact tens of 1000’s of individuals, develop vaccination applications, and distribute 1000’s of antibiotic therapies. Universities transfer actions on-line and warnings are issued about journey probably spreading the sickness, all of which begins to reflect the behavioral response cycle seen throughout COVID despite the fact that the dimensions and transmission completely totally different.
The comparability just isn’t in regards to the illness itself however about how the scenario is being framed and managed, as a result of throughout COVID, the important thing situation was not simply the virus however the fear-mongering propaganda by means of fixed headlines and coverage escalation. Worry is a robust software.
While you have a look at the precise threat assessments, well being authorities have said that the general threat stays low and that the illness just isn’t simply transmissible. There’s already a longtime vaccine that’s efficient towards the pressure concerned, which additional reinforces that it is a contained public well being situation slightly than a systemic menace. The media narrative focuses on essentially the most alarming elements, comparable to deaths, and makes use of language like “explosive” or “unprecedented,” which turns into deceptive when faraway from the statistical info. Governments use public concern to grab extra management, and the cycle repeats.
From the angle of the Financial Confidence Mannequin, this kind of response aligns with intervals the place confidence is declining and governments develop their position in managing outcomes, since public well being offers a mechanism by means of which intervention will be justified, significantly when uncertainty and concern are working excessive.
