As coronavirus spreads across all fifty states, Surgeon General Jerome Adams is calling on none other than Kylie Jenner, basketball players Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell and others for help in encouraging Gen Z and Millennials (some of whom have recently been seen partying on spring break) to take the virus seriously.
In a recent appearance on ABC's Good Morning America, Adams tells Michael Strahan that he has a "15 and 14-year-old" and that the more he tells them "not to do something, the more they want to do it."
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He then explained that the help he needs to spread information about the pandemic can be found in people with large followings, including Durant (who recently tested positive for the virus and who has 11.8 million Instagram followers), Mitchell, (who also has the COVID-19 and has 3 million followers), and of course, Jenner (who has a whopping 166 million followers).
"[We need to get] our influencers, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, we need to get Kylie Jenner, we need to get our social media influencers out there and helping folks understand that look, this is serious, this is absolutely serious, people are dying," Adams said. "We again are seeing new data emerging from Italy that suggests that young people may be at higher risk in different situations than what we previously thought."
With many young people saying on social media that they will be "fine" or that the coronavirus "only affects old people," Adams suggested putting the disease in perspective, and how it can affect those close to you, even if it doesn't affect you.
"Think about your grandmother," he continued, "think about your grandfather, think about the fact that you're spreading a disease that could ultimately be what kills them."
Watch Adams' full message below:
Photo via Instagram