Solving COVID
Tinder, OKCupid, Match, other dating sites will give a bump to users who get vaccinated
States and local entities are offering all sorts of incentives to get inoculated against COVID-19 — beer, food, lottery tickets, dinner with New Jersey's governor — as vaccination rates plateau or decline across much of the U.S. The White House is looking to leverage love — or at least libido — to boost vaccination rates.
In a collaboration announced Friday, the White House and nine dating sites under the Match Group umbrella are launching a campaign to boost dating customers who get vaccinated, are already vaccinated — or maybe just say the are vaccinated. Details "will be available in the coming weeks," the Match Group said.
The nine sites — Tinder, OKCupid, Match, Bumble, Hinge, BLK, Chispa, Plenty of Fish, and Badoo — will offer various ways of making people with vaccine-related badges or profile markers more attractive to prospective dates. The various sites will launch their campaigns soon and run them through July 4, the date at which President Biden wants 70 percent of all adults to be at least partially vaccinated. Proof of vaccination will get love-seekers "like boosts, super likes, and super swipes," the White House said.
The dating apps and White House say they are just following current market forces. "According to research from OKCupid, people who are vaccinated or plan to get vaccinated receive 14 percent more Matches than people who don't plan to get vaccinated," the White House said in a fact sheet.