The White House, under Joe Biden’s administration, has partnered with popular online dating apps such as Bumble, Tinder, and Match, as a way of encouraging vaccination against the coronavirus disease.
The idea is to get Americans to get vaccinated against the virus that has killed hundreds of thousands in the country alone. According to a 2019 study by Pew Research Center, 52 percent of Americans have used a dating app, and six in ten online daters have had positive experiences with dating platforms, etc. This goes to say that the average American is on at least one dating app.
The COVID restrictions are slowly loosening as there is a decline in the number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. People are beginning to go back to everyday activities and there seems to be a sense of normalcy returning even in dating. The percentage of younger people on dating apps surpasses that of older people. Since young people are more prone to spreading the virus without it having dire effects on them, it is important that new methods are devised to encourage them to get vaccinated. Joe Biden’s administration has set a goal of getting 70 percent of adults in the U.S. vaccinated before July 4 Independence Day.
“Social distancing and dating were always a bit of a challenging combination”, Andy Slavatt; White House coronavirus adviser said to reporters on Friday.
Online daters will be able to know if their love interest has been vaccinated against the virus by checking on the app. According to the adviser, OkCupid; one of the dating apps that was partnered with, reported that people who revealed their vaccination status have a 14 percent chance of getting a chance than those who choose not to display it. “We have finally found the one thing that makes us all more attractive: a vaccination”, he said.
Dating platforms cater to the needs of about 50 million people in the U.S. and will begin to give incentives such as premium content, boosts, more matches, likes, etc, to online daters who decide to share their vaccination status.
