Olivia Rodrigo visits Joe Biden at White House in youth vaccination push

The star's visit comes as the US government encourages those between the ages of 12 and 27 to get the Covid-19 jab

Teenage pop star Olivia Rodrigo speaks at the beginning of the daily briefing at the White House in Washington on Wednesday, July 14. AP Photo

Olivia Rodrigo wants people to know that Covid-19 vaccines are “good 4 u".

The pop star and internet sensation, 18, visited the White House on Wednesday to meet with President Joe Biden and chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci as part of the administration’s efforts to encourage younger Americans to get their coronavirus vaccination.

Rodrigo, who rose to fame as a Disney Channel star, taped a joint social media message with the president and the US’s top infectious disease expert on Wednesday afternoon. She also made an appearance at the start of the daily White House press briefing “to help spread the message of the importance of youth vaccination".

“It’s important to have conversations with friends and family members encouraging all communities to get vaccinated,” she said, encouraging young people to find their nearest clinic and access information about the vaccines.

She also posted a message to her 14.5 million Instagram followers after the visit. “Even if you are young and not immunocompromised, getting your Covid vaccination is the best thing you can do for your health and your loved ones’ health,” she wrote.

“Thank you to everyone who has done their part in helping end this pandemic and thank you to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Dr Fauci and everyone at the White House for having me.”

Sharing a picture of himself and Rodrigo wearing sunglasses in his office, President Biden also shared his own message following the visit.

“Thanks for stopping by, Olivia, and for using your voice to urge young people to get vaccinated. If we all do our part and get the Covid-19 vaccine, we can defeat this virus once and for all. Let’s do this,” he wrote.

Rodrigo’s visit comes as the Biden administration focuses its efforts on encouraging people ages 12 to 27 to get a Covid-19 vaccine. While younger Americans are at lower risk of serious outcomes or death from the coronavirus, the White House says the only way to be completely safe – and to protect their families – is to get a shot.

As the highly transmissible delta variant surges in communities with lower vaccination rates, the administration sees vaccinating the highly mobile age cohort as critical to slowing the now-dominant strain’s spread.

Additional reporting from AP