How young people should (not) respond to emerging outbreaks — and what preparedness after COVID should look like instead

/ Advocacy, Global Health / By

Contributors and supporting organisations

Individual contributors: Christos Tsagkaris, Marina Haque, Evangelia Markopoulou, Irem Sevik, Pratik Kiju, Charli Sitong Zhang, Katarina Ritzenthaler 

Supporting organisations: Social Advocacy Coalition, European Student Think Tank, Public Health and Policy Working Group, Coalition for Global Health Innovation (CGHI)

 

Why this matters?

Recent hantavirus clusters linked to international travel have revived memories of the COVID-19 pandemic, illustrating how even limited infectious disease events are now interpreted through the lens of “outbreak memory”— what might be described as the lasting social, psychological, and communicational imprint left by previous epidemics. In the post-COVID era, outbreaks unfold within environments shaped by digital hyperconnectivity, geopolitical instability, preparedness fatigue, and declining institutional trust. The significance of current hantavirus clusters may therefore lie less in their epidemiological scale than in their role as stress tests for communication, social resilience, and preparedness culture. Building on these observations, this viewpoint reflects on how young people can respond constructively to emerging outbreaks through evidence-based communication, informed engagement, sustained participation, solidarity, and meaningful involvement in preparedness efforts. Although centred on current hantavirus events, these reflections apply more broadly to future infectious threats requiring collective behavioural responses and sustained social cooperation.

 

Introduction

Recent reports of hantavirus clusters linked to international travel and a possible chain of human-to-human transmission aboard a cruise ship have drawn renewed public attention to emerging infectious disease threats1. Hantavirus infections are primarily transmitted from rodents to humans through inhalation of aerosols contaminated with faeces, urine, or saliva of infected rodents2,3. Human-to-human transmission has been recorded, particularly focusing on the Andes virus (ANDV) — a species of Hantavirus4. Pathogenic hantaviruses are maintained in specific rodent host species, and their geographic distribution closely mirrors the presence and distribution of these natural reservoirs5.  Although Hantavirus outbreaks remain relatively uncommon and are typically far more geographically contained than global respiratory pandemics, the possibility of transmission within international travel settings has revived broader societal distress surrounding outbreak preparedness, global mobility, and public health response. 

 

For many young people, individuals between 15 and 29 years of age, these events unfold against the backdrop of lived memories from the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence suggests that up to 1.6 billion of young people, adolescents and children have been affected by COVID-19 related measures including social distancing measures and school or university closure during the pandemic6. Six years later, even relatively limited infectious disease events can be interpreted through the lens of what might be described as “outbreak memory”: the lasting collective imprint that previous epidemics leave on societies, institutions, and systems of communication.

 

For a generation raised in digitally saturated environments, outbreaks are now experienced simultaneously as biomedical events, media events, and social identity events. Information spreads alongside fear, speculation, moral judgement, and political interpretation, often collapsing distinctions between preparedness and performative reaction. As a result, even relatively small outbreaks can generate disproportionate psychological and social reverberations, particularly within online spaces shaped by algorithmic amplification, crisis fatigue, and declining institutional trust10-11. 

 

The significance of current hantavirus events may lie less in their epidemiological scale than in their function as stress tests. This is not only in regards to biomedical preparedness, but also for communication, coordination, preparedness, and social trust in the post COVID-19 era. Building on outbreak memory, these events offer an opportunity to reconsider how younger generations can respond to uncertainty— not through panic or disengagement, but through informed participation, solidarity, and sustained public health engagement.  

How (not) to act?

1. Instead of listening to panic, prioritise evidence-based communication

During COVID-19, misinformation spread rapidly across digital platforms, often faster than verified public health information. Young people now play a major role in how outbreak-related content is created, shared, interpreted, and amplified online8. Before reposting alarming information about emerging outbreaks such as hantavirus clusters, prioritise verified sources, contextualise uncertainty, and avoid contributing to fear-driven narratives. Communication itself has become part of preparedness.

2. Instead of instant reactions, choose informed engagement

Young people experienced much of the COVID-19 pandemic through screens, with prolonged exposure to alarming news, online debates, and continuous crisis-related content. Studies have linked excessive outbreak-related media exposure with anxiety, stress, and emotional fatigue, particularly among adolescents and young adults8,9. Staying informed remains important, but preparedness also requires balanced information habits, critical thinking, and the ability to pause before reacting impulsively online and the ability to discuss with specialists before taking physical or digital action.

 

3. Instead of disengaging because of fatigue, stay active and engaged

More than six years after the start of COVID-19, many young people continue to experience preparedness fatigue, institutional distrust, and crisis exhaustion10-12. However, indifference toward emerging health threats may weaken both community resilience and public trust during future emergencies. Preparedness does not require constant alarm, but it does require sustained awareness, participation in community dialogue, and continued engagement with public health issues beyond moments of crisis.

 

4. Instead of digital hypercommitment, strengthen solidarity and community

During COVID-19, many young people witnessed how quickly fear can erode empathy and social cohesion. Public conversations surrounding masking, vaccination, travel, and infection often became moralised and polarised, leaving little room for uncertainty or nuance. Future preparedness efforts should recognise that maintaining social trust and compassion during outbreaks is itself a form of public health infrastructure10-12.

Young people can contribute positively during emerging outbreaks by promoting respectful dialogue, supporting vulnerable individuals, and resisting fear-driven or discriminatory narratives in digital and to the extent possible and safe physical space. 

 

5. Instead of symbolic inclusion, seek and strengthen youth participation

Although young people were profoundly affected by COVID-19-related educational, social, and psychological disruption, youth participation in preparedness planning often remained limited from an operational point of view (youth tokenization)13. Future preparedness strategies should move beyond symbolic representation and include young people in communication initiatives, digital literacy programmes, community preparedness activities, and health policymaking discussions. Young people should not only receive preparedness messages—they should help shape them.

 

Conclusion

The future trajectory of current hantavirus clusters remains uncertain, and these events may ultimately remain limited in scale. Nevertheless, they highlight how emerging outbreaks continue to function as stress tests for communication, preparedness, trust, and social resilience in the post-COVID era. The lessons outlined here are therefore not limited to hantavirus alone, but apply more broadly to future infectious threats that may require collective behavioural responses, public health measures, and sustained social cooperation. Preparing for future outbreaks will depend not only on biomedical capacity, but also on how societies—and especially younger generations—communicate, engage, and respond under uncertainty.

 

References

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  2. Jeffrey S. Duchin, Frederick T. Koster, C. J. Peters, Gary L. Simpson, Bruce Tempest, Sherif R. Zaki, et al. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome: A Clinical Description of 17 Patients with a Newly Recognized Disease. N Engl J Med. 330(13). doi:10.1056/NEJM199403313301401

  3. Tortosa F, Perre F, Tognetti C, Lossetti L, Carrasco G, Guaresti G, et al. Seroprevalence of hantavirus infection in non-epidemic settings over four decades: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2024 Sep 19;24(1):2553. doi:10.1186/s12889-024-20014-w

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  6. School Closures Have Severely Disrupted Education, and Remote Learning Remains Out of Reach for Many | Global Humanitarian Overview 2022 | Humanitarian Action [Internet]. [cited 2026 May 9]. Available from: https://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2022/article/school-closures-have-severely-disrupted-education-and-remote-learning-remains-out-reach#footnote-paragraph-101-1-reference-1

  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Hantavirus. CDC. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/about/index.html

  8. Goodyear VA, Armour KM, Wood H. Young people and their engagement with health-related social media: new perspectives. Sport Educ Soc. 2018 Sep 2;24(7):673. doi:10.1080/13573322.2017.1423464 PubMed PMID: 31814804.

  9. Zubair U, Khan MK, Albashari M. Link between excessive social media use and psychiatric disorders. Annals of Medicine and Surgery. 2023 Apr 1;85(4):875. doi:10.1097/MS9.0000000000000112 PubMed PMID: 37113864.

  10. Van de Velde C, Hardy C, Boudreault S, Richard J, Tennessee K. Youth, Interrupted? Young Adults, Time and the Future During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Sociol Res Online. 2025 Dec 1;30(4):867–84. 

  11. Cinelli M, Quattrociocchi W, Galeazzi A, et al. The COVID-19 social media infodemic. Sci Rep. 2020;10:16598. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-73510-5.

  12. De Nicola G, Tuekam Mambou VH, Kauermann G. COVID-19 and social media: Beyond polarization. PNAS Nexus. 2023 Aug 1;2(8). doi:10.1093/PNASNEXUS/PGAD246 PubMed PMID: 37564362.

  13. Ramos F, Tavares AF, da Cruz NF. Between promise and practice: a scoping review of the democratic outcomes of youth participation in local governance. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2026 Feb 1;181:108738. doi:10.1016/J.CHILDYOUTH.2025.108738

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