The Government Wants Kylie Jenner’s Help With The Coronavirus

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen in the U.S., public health officials are enlisting help from doctors, scientists, nonprofits, and… Kylie Jenner. On March 19, Jerome Adams, MD, the Surgeon General of the United States, spoke to “Good Morning America.” He said that he hopes influencers such as Jenner will do their part to spread the world about social distancing and how to act responsibly during this stressful time. 

“We need to get our social media influencers out there in helping folks understand that this is serious,” Dr. Adams said in the GMA interview. “People are dying.” 

Yet millennials and Gen Z-ers are still going on spring break and taking advantage of flights that are cheaper due to coronavirus, NBC News reported. Dr. Adams hopes these age groups will listen up and realize that they’re in danger, too. 

“Young people may be at higher risk than we previously thought,” Dr. Adams explained. It's true: Although it was originally believed that older people were more susceptible to COVID-19, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed 20% of those hospitalized were between 20 and 44. 

But Dr. Adams has a solution. “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," he said on GMA. "What I really think we need to do… is get our influencers out. We need to get Kylie Jenner.”

Dr. Adams thinks if anyone can get through to these generations, It’s the 22-year-old reality star and owner of Kylie Cosmetics, who has over 166 million followers on Instagram. 

In response to the surgeon general's suggestions, Jenner made a Instagram story of herself asking people to "please stay inside."

"It's serious, and the only way we're going to slow this down is if we do this," she said in the video. "Nobody's immune to this. Millennials are not immune to this."

For the record, the billionaire beauty mogul was already been doing her part before Dr. Adams called on her. “Another daily reminder to take this social distancing serious and self quarantine,” she wrote in an Instagram story on March 18. “I’m on day eight.” 

On Twitter, she added: “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.”

But why stop there? Jenner could host a Facebook Live Q&A with Dr. Adams himself, for example. She could film one of her famous "A Day in the Life" YouTube videos of her quarantine routine. She could post an at-home manicure tutorial for those of us who are forgoing the salon. She could even start selling Kylie Cosmetics hand soaps and sanitizers — in her signature powder pink, natch.

Or she could stick with the occasional post that promotes social distancing. Hopefully, the people who need to see these PSAs will heed her advice.