A few days after Olivia Rodrigo traveled to the White House, we're continuing to see the fruits of her visit with President Joe Biden in support of COVID-19 vaccinations for young people.
As part of her visit, Olivia sat down with Dr. Anthony Fauci, NIAID director and chief medical advisor to the POTUS, and Teen Vogue has the exclusive premiere of their interview. Dr. Fauci called Olivia “a trusted messenger” for vital information about vaccinations, given her obvious cultural impact and fans of all ages. “When they hear and see someone who they admire and respect, that really makes a difference," Fauci said. "It's absolutely essential to get young people vaccinated.”
Olivia's first question got right to the heart of the matter. “Why is it important for young people to get vaccinated?” she asked. Fauci's response was twofold.
“First, for their own health and safety,” he said. “Because there is a misperception that young people will never have any problem with COVID-19. It's true that statistically it's less likely for a young person to get a severe outcome from COVID-19, but it isn't zero. There are plenty of young people right now, as we're getting this new Delta variant come up and infecting people more and more, we're seeing a lot more young people get infected, and even be hospitalized. So it's for your own safety first.”
“The other thing is that if you get vaccinated, you're like a dead end to the virus,” he continued. “If you get infected, even if you don't get any symptoms and you do fine, there's a likelihood you're going to transmit it to someone else, who might transmit it to someone else, who might be a person who is vulnerable to getting seriously ill. Nobody is going to want to be a vehicle for a virus to hurt someone else … you want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
Related: Vaccine Rebels: The Teens Defying Their Parents to Get the COVID Vaccine
Fauci shared that a “larger proportion” of people under 18 haven't been vaccinated yet, and he wants to see “momentum” among young people who can talk to each other about why they should get life-saving vaccines. He also acknowledged to Olivia the hurdles to their mission, like young people's sense of invincibility, and a perceived inconvenience to getting a vaccine dose. “It's easy, and it's free,” Fauci reaffirmed. “It's a highly effective way to prevent serious disease.”
Olivia made waves during her visit last week, both for her incredible presidential look and her inspired commitment to encouraging young people to get the vaccine. As she said in a press briefing on July 14, "It’s important to have conversations with friends and family members encouraging all communities to get vaccinated and actually get to a vaccination site."
Find out more about how to get vaccinated here.
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Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Olivia Rodrigo Visits Joe Biden's White House to Support Youth Vaccine Initiative
