(CNN) — Pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo visited the White House on Wednesday to meet with President Joe Biden and his chief Covid-19 medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, to record videos to encourage young people to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
The videos will be featured on the 18-year-old’s social media channels as well as the White House’s accounts. Rodrigo is the singer of hits “Drivers License,” and “good 4 u,” and has more than 28 million followers across her channels.
Rodrigo will “record videos about the importance of young people getting vaccinated, including answering important questions young people have about getting vaccinated,” a White House told CNN.
The visit comes as the White House ramps up its efforts to get young people vaccinated against Covid-19, particularly as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads across the nation. The Delta variant now comprises more than half of the cases in the United States and is spreading in areas with low vaccination rates.
Rodrigo’s visit to the White House was first announced on Instagram. Biden’s account posted a photo of the President’s younger self and wrote in the caption: “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?”
Rodrigo commented, “i’m in! see you tomorrow at the white house!”
Youth vaccination rates continue to lag significantly behind the general American population. Only a quarter of children ages 12 to 15 are fully vaccinated, which is less than any other eligible group, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That group became eligible to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine two months ago.
As of Tuesday, 33.5% of Americans age 12 to 15 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 24.9% fully vaccinated, per CDC data. Forty-five and a half percent of Americans ages 16 and 17 have received at least one dose, with 37.1% fully vaccinated. And 50.5% of Americans ages 18 to 24 have had at least one dose, with 41.6% fully vaccinated, all of these younger groups far behind the national average of 48.1% fully vaccinated.
Biden recently announced his administration would be stepping up efforts to get vaccines to pediatricians and other providers who serve younger people so that adolescents ages 12 to 18 can get vaccinated as they go for check ups ahead of returning to school and/or starting fall sports.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 67.7% of US adults had at least one shot and 159.7 million adults were fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
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