During an appearance on Good Morning America today, Surgeon General Jerome Adams called for the help of Kylie Jenner and other influencers for help in spreading information about coronavirus.
When asked how he thinks people can get younger generations to take the pandemic more seriously, Adams referenced the fact that he has a 15 and 14-year-old. He said the more he tells them not to do something, the more they want to do it. After mentioning NBA stars Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell who both have contracted the virus, Adams spoke of Kylie Jenner specifically.
“We need to get Kylie Jenner and social media influencers out there, in helping folks understand that look, this is serious, this is absolutely serious. People are dying,” he said on the show.
He mentioned new data from Italy that may suggest young people are at higher risk than previously thought.
UPDATE: Jenner has now responded to the request from the Surgeon General in an Instagram story, again asking her followers to stay home and emphasizing the importance of self-quarantining.
Jenner Called for Self-Quarantining on Twitter
On March 17, Jenner took to Twitter to urge her followers to practice self-quarantining.
“i hope everyone is feeling well! it’s so important right now to self quarantine to ensure we aren’t endangering ourselves or anyone who can’t handle this virus,” the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star wrote.
Jenner has also said that being pregnant prepared her for coronavirus. Since Jenner stayed inside for long periods of time during her pregnancy with daughter Stormi, she said she is used to self-quarantining.
“I’m on day 8. My pregnancy prepared me for this,” her Instagram story read. “I didn’t leave the house for months.”
Other Influencers Have Called for Followers to Help
During this time, many celebrities and influencers have been using social media to get information to their fans and urge them to self-isolate and donate to charities when they can. Ariana Grande took to Twitter on March 15 to call for her followers to stop making statements like “this isn’t a big deal” or “we’ll be fine.”
“i understand if that is how u felt weeks ago, but please read about what’s going on,” she wrote. “Please don’t turn a blind eye. It is incredibly dangerous and selfish to take this situation that lightly.”
She shared a thread of information, asking followers to support h.r.6201, which passed in the house but had not yet been passed in the senate.
Other celebrities are using their platforms on Instagram to share a power photo of healthcare workers asking people to stay home. The photo features healthcare workers holding up signs that write out “we stay here for you, please stay home for us.” Justin Bieber shared the photo around 2 p.m. EST on March 19 and it has over 500,000 likes at the time of writing. Ellen Pompeo, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Kristen Bell also shared the photo.
Earlier this week, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donated $1 million to be split between Feeding America and Food Banks Canada.
“Take care of your bodies and hearts. Leave room for joy. Call someone who’s isolated and might need connection,” the post announcing the donation reads.
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Surgeon General Asks Kylie Jenner to Help Fight Coronavirus