WASHINGTON — Some of the nations's biggest dating apps are launching new features to encourage people to get Covid-19 vaccinations, the White House announced Friday.
The effort comes in support of President Joe Biden's goal of getting 70 percent of U.S. adults at least one vaccine shot by July Fourth, the White House said.
Tinder, OKCupid and Hinge and others are announcing they will offer users badges showing their vaccination status and access to premium content for those who've received their shots. The apps are also implementing filters so people can see who has been vaccinated as well as promotions and links to vaccine.gov to help people find where to get the shots.
“Hinge will encourage users to share their vaccination status on their profile and give vaccinated users a free 'Rose,' which is premium content that indicates to other users that they’re especially excited to get to know them,” the White House said.
OkCupid says it will also have a new matching system that allows users to search by vaccination status.
“Vaccinated people will also receive a free 'Boost' to move their profile to the front of a daters’ stack,” the White House said of the app's plans.
Bumble, Badoo, BLK, Chispa, Match and Plenty of Fish will also take part in the effort to promote vaccinations.
The White House noted that OkCupid has found that people who are vaccinated or who plan to be receive 14 percent more matches compared to those who don’t.
So far, just over 60 percent of adults have received at least one vaccine dose, and just under 50 percent of adults are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
