Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical advisor, will reportedly take to Snapchat to encourage more young Americans to get vaccinated.
Fauci, 80, will make his Snapchat debut as part of a wider White House media campaign to launch on Monday, Axios reported Sunday. As of Monday, everyone aged over 16 in the US is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Fauci and the White House want to reassure Americans who may be hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine, an unnamed official told Axios.
More than two-thirds of Americans aged 18 to 29 use Snapchat, the social-media platform that lets you send short videos and photos to others, according to the Pew Research Center.
The campaign is launching as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigate reports of a rare but serious possible side effect of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. Six women aged between 18 and 48 had brain blood clots after getting the shot, the groups said April 13.
Nearly half of all adults have had one dose of COVID-19 shot, and about one-third are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Fauci has previously said that vaccinating 70% to 85% of America's population would enable a return to normal life.