Washington, May 22 (IANS) To encourage more people to come forward for vaccination, the White House has teamed up with leading dating websites like Tinder, Bumble and OkCupid that will offer new perks to their users like finding a perfect match once they get the jab.
The White House Covid-19 response team announced on Friday that social distancing and dating were always a bit of a challenging combination.
“So today, dating sites like Bumble, Tinder, Hinge, Match, OkCupid, BLK, Chispa, Plenty of Fish, and Badoo are announcing a series of features to encourage vaccinations and help people meet people who have that universally attractive quality: They’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19,” the response team said in a statement.
These dating sites cater to over 50 million people in the US and are some of the world’s biggest non-gaming apps.
According to OKCupid, people who display their vaccination status are 14 per cent more likely to get a match.
“We have finally found the one thing that makes us all more attractive: a vaccination,” said the White House team.
These dating apps will allow vaccinated people to display badges which show their vaccination status, filter specifically to see only people who are vaccinated, and offer premium content like boosts and super swipes.
The apps will also help people locate places to get vaccinated.
“We’re excited to work with the White House to help 70% of American adults get vaccinated by July 4th. Nothing like fireworks to signal a new spark and a new start for those looking to meet new people this summer,” said Jim Lanzone, CEO of Tinder.
Tinder said that members can advocate for their potential matches to get vaccinated by adding interactive new stickers to their profile.
Stickers include “I’m Vaccinated,” “Vaxing Soon,” Immunity Together, and “Vaccines Save Lives.”