More than 50 million users of the nation's largest dating apps are now able to filter potential dates according to their vaccination status, courtesy of a White House initiative aimed at meeting the president’s goal of having 70% of adults receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by July 4.
The range of new features will allow users of Bumble, Tinder, Hinge, Match, OKCupid, BLK, Chispa, Plenty of Fish and Badoo to be able to filter potential vaccinated or unvaccinated matches and, in return, they will gain free access to premium features such as adding a new "Vaccinated" badge to their profiles or giving them a free "boost" to make their profile appear to move up in search results.
Research from OKCupid found those who have been, or plan to be, vaccinated are “matched” 14% more times than those who are not vaccinated.
According to NPR, even though more than 60% of Americans 18 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and nearly 130 million Americans are now fully vaccinated, the vaccination rates have fallen, with the average daily number of vaccinations down nearly 50% from April. The White House is hoping their efforts will speed up vaccinations.
SOURCE: NPR May 21, 2021