Hot vax summer: Tinder and Hinge team up with White House to get folks vaccinated

If you’re looking for love, is a potential mate more attractive if they’ve been vaccinated? Andy Slavitt, the White House Senior Advisor for COVID-19, thinks so. “According to one of the sites, OkCupid, people who display their vaccination status are 14% more likely to get a match. We have finally found the one thing that makes us all more attractive — a vaccination,” he told reporters last Friday.

Now nine of the largest dating apps — including Hinge, Tinder, OKCupid, Match, and Plenty of Fish — are partnering with the White House to encourage users to get the vaccine.

The initiative coincides with the concept of “hot vax summer,” according to CNBC tech reporter Jessica Bursztynsky.

“Now that people are getting their vaccines, they feel more carefree and more willing to take some dating risks. It's an idea of ‘Yeah, we’re vaccinated. We’re safe. We're gonna go have some fun.’”

How does the partnership work? Bursztynsky says vaccinated users will receive paid content perks, such as super swipes on Bumble or a rose on Hinge.

She adds that users are already getting vaccinated, and some are proudly sharing with others about their status and what type of treatment they received.

What does the future of dating look like?

Bursztynsky says that as vaccinations continue, the number of people going out might increase. She notes that after a dip last year, male condoms sales have jumped by more than 20%. That being said, she doesn’t think it will lead to a roaring 20s for singles.

“I think a lot of people think that they're going to go crazy. And then they're going to get out there and realize how uncomfortable they feel or how out of practice they are.”

She adds, “I think [when] people get out there, they realize what feels good to them, what they have to get over still, or what they're willing to do, or [are] still scared of, and figure it out from there. So maybe in the fall, it'll be a hot vax fall when we’re more used to vaccines.”