Image of the Tinder app logo on a tablet DENIS CHARLET / AFP
The umpteenth effort by the White House to incentivize coronavirus vaccination is a deal with major US dating apps. Starting this week, the millions of users of Tinder or Bumble, among others, can improve their experience in the apps if they are inoculated. Their profiles will have greater visibility and the platforms will allow the candidates to be filtered according to the doses they have received. The Joe Biden Administration thus tries to mobilize young people when the vaccination rate slows, now that 50% of the adult population has already received full treatment.
"We have finally found what makes us all more attractive: a vaccine," Andy Slavitt, one of President Biden's top coronavirus advisers, told a news conference last week. Slavitt assured that according to a survey conducted by OkCupid, an application with more than five million users, people who have been vaccinated or mention that they plan to do so are 14% more likely to
match
(coincide with another user in which both are like or want to meet).
The initiative can reach 50 million Americans, according to this advisor. The objective is to mobilize the youngest adults in the United States who, although they can be vaccinated since April, the figures reflect that they are not flocking: 7.6% of people between 18 and 24 years old have received at least one dose and only 1.7% of those between the ages of 16 and 17, according to figures from the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC). The average vaccination rate has fallen 44% daily from the peak of 3.38 million reported on April 13. Local governments, businesses, and nonprofits are also incentivizing vaccination with gifts ranging from free beers to monetary bonuses.
In a country where there are more than 2,500 dating apps, promoting a message on several of the largest (Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid, Plenty of Fish, Match, Bumble and Badoo) can work in a rising market that moves more 3,000 dollars a year, according to the consulting firm IBIS World. The White House also included the BLK app, used by African-American singles, and Chispa, by Latinos. Tinder reported that more than half of its youngest users were interested only in dating fully vaccinated people, according to a self-made survey.
New features vary from app to app.
Tinder users, for example, can put a badge on their profile that says “I'm vaccinated” or “Vaccines save lives” and get free access to some premium options.
Vaccinated Match users allow their profiles to be more visible and OkCupid users can search for a potential partner based on their vaccination status.
The authorities' message to singles is that after 14 months of social distancing, get vaccinated and date again.
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