(Reuters) – Want to know if your next new love interest has been vaccinated against COVID-19? Just check your favorite app.
The White House has partnered with popular online dating platforms such as Match, Tinder and Bumble to encourage more Americans to get vaccinated against the virus that has killed hundreds of thousands of people in the United States alone.
The dating apps will be offering new features including badges that show people’s vaccination status, free access to “premium content like boosts, super likes, and super swipes” for vaccinated individuals, and ways to filter potential hook-ups according to people’s vaccination status, the White House said.
Match Group Inc confirmed its participation. Promotional campaigns on the apps will launch in the coming weeks and will run until the July 4 Independence Day holiday.
President Joe Biden has set a goal to vaccinate 70% of U.S. adults with at least one COVID-19 shot by that date.
To meet the target as demand slows for vaccines in the country, the White House announced partnerships with ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft earlier this month.
As of Thursday, the United States has administered about 279.4 million doses, with 48.2% of its people receiving at least one shot, according to the latest data https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Howard Goller)
