United States Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams called on Kevin Durant as well as other “influencers” like Kylie Jenner and Donovan Mitchell to stress the gravity of coronavirus in hopes of getting their followers to act appropriately.
“I have a 15- and a 14-year-old, and the more I tell them not to do something, the more they want to do it,” Dr. Adams said Wednesday on “Good Morning America.” “What I really think we need to do – and you and I talked about this earlier this week – was 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 made a particular appeal to young people’s conscience, noting being asymptomatic or having a mild case may lead to worse outcomes for others, including loved ones.
“Think about your grandfather, think about your grandmother,” Dr. Adams advised. “Think about the fact you’re spreading disease that could ultimately be what kills them.”
Durant has 11.8 million followers on Instagram, Jenner 166 million and Mitchell three million followers. Both KD and Mitchell have tested positive. Jenner has tested negative but she too is self-quarantining.
No word yet from any of the three.
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- Surgeon General Jerome Adams call on social media influencers, Kylie Jenner, to help fight coronavirus (Video) - Carlson Blackwelder - GMA