US federal and local governments have contacted several popular online content creators to help promote the need for coronavirus vaccination among their audiences, Report informs referring to The New York Times.
To reach these young people, the White House has enlisted an eclectic army of more than 50 Twitch streamers, YouTubers, TikTokers, and the 18-year-old pop star Olivia Rodrigo, all of them with enormous online audiences. State and local governments have begun similar campaigns, in some cases paying “local micro-influencers” - those with 5,000 to 100,000 followers - up to $1,000 a month to promote Covid-19 vaccines to their fans.
Fewer than half of all Americans age 18 to 39 are fully vaccinated, compared with more than two-thirds of those over 50, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And about 58 percent of those aged 12 through 17 have yet to receive a shot at all.
The newly resurgent coronavirus could spark 140,000 to 300,000 cases a day in the US in August, fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant and the widespread resumption of everyday activities, The Washington Post reported earlier.
Daily hospitalizations rose by roughly 40 percent, and deaths rose almost 30 percent, averaging more than 300 each day. Doctors urge to get vaccinated since, in most cases, severe course of the disease and deaths are observed in people who have not been vaccinated.