Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Fauci’s hilarious description of Olivia Rodrigo as she heads to White House to promote vaccines

President teases that ‘we’ve got to get other young people protected as well. Who’s willing to help?’

Gino Spocchia
Tuesday 13 July 2021 20:35 BST
Comments
Olivia Rodrigo explains 'Drivers License' origins

Dr Anthony Fauci has done his homework on Olivia Rodrigo before meeting the chart-topping singer at the White House.

“I understand that she’s a very popular figure among young individuals,” he said when asked about the upcoming visit.

The star of High School Musical: The Musical will meet US president Joe Biden and Mr Fauci, his chief medical adviser, on Wednesday as part of a campaign to get young Americans vaccinated against Covid.

In an interview with MSNBC, Mr Fauci said the administration wants to get trusted messengers that people can relate to, as opposed to just federal officials telling people to get vaccinated.

"And if she has a large following, which I understand she has an enormous following, I’m sure that she can do some good by appealing to the people who look up to her as a model," he said.

Ms Rodrigo will record videos informing young people about the importance of getting vaccinated against Covid, according to officials.

The White House hope that Ms Rodrigo will reach wider audiences than Mr Biden and Dr Fauci can, with younger Americans slower at getting vaccinated.

According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month, more than 159 million Americans were fully vaccinated from the virus, but only 31.9 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds were.

Among the wider US population, 58.9 per cent were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday.

Mr Biden appeared to tease Ms Rodrigo’s visit by posting a picture from his youth on Instagram and captioned it by saying: ”I know this young person would’ve gotten vaccinated, but we’ve got to get other young people protected as well. Who’s willing to help?”

Ms Rodrigo responded to the post by saying: “I’m in! see you tomorrow at the white house!”

The White House confirmed the visit shortly after.

“Our work to reach young people where they are with information about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, includes the President’s participation in the YouTube Town Hall with Dr Fauci which drove millions of views to young people around vaccination efforts," an official told NY1 News.

“Sour”, the debut album by Ms Rodrigo which was released in May, has hit the top of the Billboard 200 char three times and broke Spotify’s record for the most streams in a week for a debut album by a female artist.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in