The next couple of weeks are crucial if we are to slow the spread of the coronavirus, according to health officials, which is why all age groups must practice “social distancing” and reduce public and social contact as much as possible. But one generation, in particular, must play a key role: millennials.
“I’m the mother of two millennials,” said Deborah Birx, a member of President Trump’s coronavirus task force, during a press conference Monday afternoon. “They are the core group that will stop this virus. They are the group that communicates successfully, independent of picking up a phone. They intuitively know how to contact each other without being in large social gatherings.”
Statistically, millennials are more likely to be carriers for COVID-19 because, well, there are more of us. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that adults between the ages of 20 and 35 now make up the largest living population, surpassing the baby boomers. Young adults are also less likely to show symptoms, which means they are more likely to spread the coronavirus without realizing it. This is why it’s important for millennials to reduce public contact, especially with older adults who are more at risk, Birx explained.
There are countless graphs and illustrations that prove social distancing works. Yet, young adults still don’t seem to be taking this seriously. Dozens of online users shared pictures of millennials at bars, restaurants, and other public gatherings this weekend as if nothing had changed.
This is irresponsible and selfish. These people are more likely to get sick themselves, and they are also more likely to spread the coronavirus to older and more vulnerable populations. The less mobile and social we are, the fewer opportunities the virus has to spread, as Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said multiple times.
But social distancing requires sacrifice, which might be why so many young adults my age refuse to heed public health warnings. It’s time we take responsibility for our generation and the generations above us. What we do now will not just affect us; it will affect the rest of the country.
“These guidelines are very specific,” Birx explained on Monday, but “they will only work if every American takes this together to heart and responds as one nation and one people to stop the spread of this virus.”
