B the change for Bella

Please join our community campaign to protect our children from Meningococcal B.

We are calling on the Queensland state government to ‘B the change for Bella’ and fund the Meningococcal B vaccine in Queensland’s state immunisation program.

You can help by signing our petition below and sharing it widely!

Elanora local Bella was just 23 years old when she tragically died from Meningococcal B last year.

Bella had just completed her Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Government and International Relations. She was passionate about human and animal rights. 2023 was going to be her year!

Tragically, Bella never got to attend her graduation, or see Christmas 2022.

A week after returning from a holiday with friends to celebrate the end of her studies, Bella was admitted to John Flynn Hospital with flu-like symptoms, which she initially thought might have been Covid-19.

Within five hours of being admitted to hospital, Bella suffered a catastrophic brain injury and passed away.

Bella had contracted Meningococcal B, which caused the deadly meningitis that suddenly and shockingly ended her beautiful life.

Meningococcal B is a life-threatening bacterial infection. As was the case for Bella, symptoms can be vague, making it difficult to diagnose in time to treat.

Many parents are under the impression our children are immunised as part of the school immunisation program. A vaccine for Meningococcal is currently given to babies at 12 months and teenagers in Year 10 through the state-based immunisation program. However, the vaccination program fails to immunise against the Meningococcal B strain – a severe oversight leaving babies and adolescents vulnerable to the disease.

Other states have proactively moved to protect their young people by funding the vaccine for this deadly strain.

Blair and Jodie-Lee Fidler (Bella’s parents) and I are calling on the Queensland Government to include the Meningococcal B vaccine in Queensland’s state immunisation program.

You can help by signing the petition here: